Man City Women made it six wins from six in the Women’s Super League on Sunday, holding off a Brighton fightback to win 3-2 at the Joie Stadium and stay two points clear at the top before next weekend’s Manchester derby.
Bunny Shaw scored twice inside 16 minutes and Niamh Charles added a first City goal a minute later, but strikes from Olivia Garcia and Caitlin Hayes before half-time turned a procession into a genuine contest that Andrée Jeglertz’s side had to see out under sustained second-half pressure.
Shaw double puts Man City Women in control
Man City Women were devastating from the first whistle. Shaw opened the scoring inside five minutes, cushioning Lauren Hemp’s cross beyond Brighton goalkeeper Chiamaka Nnadozie for her sixth league goal of the season, then powered home a header from another Hemp delivery to make it 2-0 with her seventh.
Within a minute the game looked finished for Brighton. Charles flew forward from left-back, took the ball down and drove low and hard from just inside the area for her first goal in City colours, leaving Brighton three down with barely 17 minutes played.
Brighton fightback tests Man City Women’s perfect start
The visitors, the last side to beat Man City Women, refused to accept that script. Garcia tapped in from close range despite Kerstin Casparij’s block on the line, and only a strong left hand from Ayaka Yamashita stopped the Spaniard curling in a second moments later. From the resulting corner, though, Hayes headed home to make it 3-2 before the break.
Brighton enjoyed long spells of possession in the second half without finding an equaliser, and Man City Women saw out the win that keeps their 100% record intact. It was the kind of afternoon that tests a perfect start as much as any rout: three points earned on resilience rather than fluency.
Derby next for the WSL leaders
The result leaves Man City Women two points clear at the summit, and the calendar now delivers the biggest fixture of their season so far – next Sunday’s Manchester derby. Director of football Therese Sjögran praised City’s 100% start this month while warning rotation would decide whether it lasted; six games in, that depth is being proven weekly. The full run-in is on our City Women November fixtures and TV times page.
Watch Niamh Charles’s first City goal on the club’s X account.
