Vivianne Miedema stepped off the bench to help Manchester City seal a must win 2-1 Women’s Super League encounter at Brighton as they picked up all three points after a tough week.
Having endured back-to-back defeats against Chelsea – seeing precious domestic points and a Champions League semi-final berth slip through their grasp – City needed to bounce back when taking in a long trip to the south coast.
They were troubled at times by Brighton’s high press, which was led by Lionesses Fran Kirby and Nikita Parris, while chances were initially hard to come by for both teams as a lack of creativity left goalkeepers at either end relatively untroubled.
A breakthrough was, however, made in the 37th minute when Mary Fowler drilled over a low cross from the left and Kerstin Casparij was left with the simplest of tasks as she bundled home from close range – registering her first WSL goal in the process.
City survived plenty of scares before Miedema doubled their lead in the 90th minute , with the top corner picked out after seeing the ball drop her way eight yards out. There was still time for the Seagulls to grab a consolation as Charlize Rule turned in a smart spinning finish, but the Blues held on until the final whistle keeping their European qualification dreams alive.
Miedema, 28 has been a crucial member of Nick Cushing’s team since arriving at City last summer, the Dutch forward has registered six goals in twelve matches. Manchester City will face rivals Man United in the FA cup on April 13th, and Miedema could lead the charge once again.
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