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Gareth Taylor performed down the potential significance of Manchester Metropolis’s accomplishment after Khadija Shaw’s first-half strike was sufficient to safe a 1-0 victory over Chelsea and draw them degree on factors with the Girls’s Tremendous League leaders.
Although they wanted to win by at the least two targets at Kingsmeadow to climb above Friday evening’s opponents, Metropolis additionally matched the Blues’ 28-goal distinction, that means Emma Hayes’ facet stay leaders solely by advantage of their 41 targets to second-placed Metropolis, who’ve 36.
Regardless of the victory dramatically rising his facet’s probabilities of unseating the four-time defending champions, Taylor considered it with measured optimism, fast to stress what he nonetheless sees as a protracted highway forward with a lot room for enchancment.
He stated: “I’m actually happy, pleased with the gamers. I assumed we defended extremely properly, and we’ve obtained eight video games to go. We’re excited concerning the problem.
“It’s a giant step, however that’s all it’s. It’s three factors and we transfer onto the subsequent. It’s a giant step for us, there’s little question about it. I believe we’ve type of gone underneath the radar a bit of bit this season.
“I believe we’ve tried to play our recreation as a lot as we probably can, however we’ve added a little bit of steeliness and willpower to our defending now, we’re making an attempt to enhance our set performs. The indicators are good. It’s simply laborious work from the gamers.”
Shaw’s WSL-leading 14th purpose got here within the 14th minute of the competition at a sold-out Kingsmeadow after Chelsea skipper Erin Cuthbert gave away the ball to a formidable Jess Park, who in flip offered the striker.
The hosts thought they’d a penalty when Mayra Ramirez was introduced down by Alex Greenwood, who on replays appeared to clip the again of the January signing’s ankle with out touching the ball, however, with no VAR, Chelsea’s shout was in the end dismissed.
Hayes disagreed with referee Abigail Byrne’s determination, claiming Ramirez sustained a “minimize all the best way down and within her ankle”, however was extra upset in Chelsea’s decision-making and ending.
Metropolis’s victory snapped a 33-match unbeaten streak at Kingsmeadow, however Hayes – who will depart the Blues on the finish of this season to take up her new submit as head coach of the US Girls’s nationwide workforce – was hardly dropping sleep over the statistic.
“It’s not the kind of factor you’re going to placed on my tombstone,” she joked.
“I believe I’ll be remembered for the medals we get on the finish of the yr, and my focus is on that moderately than what number of followers had been right here, or what number of wins we’ve had right here. For me it’s not attention-grabbing.”
Leicester are first up for Chelsea after the worldwide break, adopted by a reunion with Taylor’s facet of their Conti Cup semi-final on March 7.
Whereas Hayes is little question keenly conscious of how Friday’s loss impacts the rest of the WSL season, she insisted her consideration not often turns to the desk itself.
She added: “It’s shut. It at all times has been. I’ve by no means felt it any completely different method so I don’t take note of it. I don’t spend time wanting up or down a league. It’s like losing time.”
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