Manchester United fought back from a goal down to eventually run out as very comfortable winners in the first Women’s Super League game staged at Hill Dickinson Stadium, as a historic day for Everton ended in disappointment and one of their former players, Jess Park, ended up being the late star of the show.
A crowd of 18,154 were inside the Everton men’s team’s new home and they looked on course for a celebratory day when Honoka Hayashi’s first-half strike had the home side leading 1-0, but Melvine Malard’s equaliser and Hikaru Kitagawa’s own goal meant it was the travelling army of about 1,000 Manchester United fans who were making all the noise. Two late goals from the substitute Park then gave the away side a margin of victory that more accurately reflected their domination.
The result also preserved United’s unbeaten start to the WSL campaign and was their fourth victory from their opening six league fixtures. They remain two points behind the leaders Chelsea.
The visitors should have been at least 2-0 up inside eight minutes, as first Lisa Naalsund clipped an effort over the crossbar despite being in space inside the area, before her Norwegian compatriot Elisabeth Terland surprisingly headed wide from around two yards out when a goal had looked certain. Fridolina Rolfö also fired into the side netting in that early spell of Manchester United pressure. They went close again in the 11th minute when Malard’s overhead flick was deflected and then saved by Emily Ramsey.
