Ella Toone scored a hat-trick on her return to WSL action as Manchester United Girls punished Manchester Metropolis Girls’ sloppy mistakes by winning 4-2 in a vibrant Manchester derby.
Toone missed games in November and December with a calf injury, and continued his scoring recovery with a notable hat-trick at the Etihad Stadium.
Man Utd were more precise from the start and Toone scored her first goal in the 14th minute. Elisabeth Terland missed her shot, but the English midfielder was on the lookout to finish. Leah Galton (21) then doubled the lead soon after, turning from close range when Man Metropolis failed to clear a corner.
Gareth Taylor’s team continued to fight, with a poorly placed pass from behind, seconds after another having seen Terland almost score, allowing Toone to score his second (36th). She latched on to a loose pass before simply beating England teammate Khiara Keating.
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Ella Toone scored her second goal of the game after some sloppy play by Manchester Metropolis.
But it looked like the comeback had begun at the end of the first half when Man Metropolis scored twice to bring the score to 3-2. Vivianne Miedema (40), who returns to the league after injury, nodded after a cross from Mary Fowler, before Rebecca Knaak (45+3) scored her first WSL goal since joining the club ago. a few weeks
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Vivianne Miedema headed Mary Fowler’s cross beyond Phallon Tullis-Joyce
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Rebecca Knaak got ahead of the two Manchester United players and headed into the far corner.
However, 10 seconds after the restart, another forgettable moment for Keating allowed Toone to complete his hat-trick. The goalkeeper lingered too long on the ball from the kick-off, with a deflection landing in the path of Toone. He won the foot race against Keating and got into an open network.
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Ella Toone completed her hat-trick in the Manchester derby from the start of the second half
For all their mistakes on one end, Man Metropolis piled up shots and chances in a dominant second half. However, some inspired moments from Phallon Tullis-Joyce prevented them from mounting a true comeback.
It is Man Utd’s first away win in the Manchester derby and moves them above Man Metropolis into third place in the WSL table. Taylor’s team, which has now lost consecutive matches in the WSL, drops to fourth place, two points off the Champions League places.
