:00:40. > :00:45.Good evening. With defending WSL champions Chelsea not in action, we
:00:46. > :00:53.will see whether any of their closest rivals could take advantage.
:00:54. > :01:02.With high-flying Manchester City extend their lead at the top with
:01:03. > :01:06.victory over Sunderland? Arsenal aimed to maintain their title talent
:01:07. > :01:09.by despatching Liverpool. And could Birmingham make it 11 unbeaten when
:01:10. > :01:19.they travelled to struggling concourse to? -- concourse to? And
:01:20. > :01:27.with the Olympics days away, we thought it would be fitting to meet
:01:28. > :01:29.the Team GB squad. Would begin at the academy Stadium, where leaders
:01:30. > :01:35.Manchester City hosted struggling Sunderland. Could the league's most
:01:36. > :01:44.porous defence resist against the free scoring City attack must be
:01:45. > :02:08.headed by Jane Ross? -- spearheaded by Jane Ross.
:02:09. > :02:16.A striker who is simply oozing with confidence.
:02:17. > :02:20.Sunderland, the latest side attending to put a stop to the
:02:21. > :02:25.Manchester City juggernaut storming towards the title. A win would see
:02:26. > :02:29.them go four point clear at the top of the league. One enforced change,
:02:30. > :02:38.McManus was stretchered off during the 5-1 win at Notts County, Stokes
:02:39. > :02:45.comes in at left back. Despite a heavy 4-0 loss at Arsenal,
:02:46. > :03:04.Sunderland boss keeps the faith and names and unchanged side.
:03:05. > :03:19.Jane Ross manages to win a corner kick.
:03:20. > :03:28.Noted on, its hit the bar! It's nodded off the line by Rachel
:03:29. > :03:35.Furnace! How close was that for Manchester City! Jane Ross looking
:03:36. > :03:44.for her 11th goal of the season, inches away from getting it.
:03:45. > :03:58.Stanway does really well to win the ball. She has beaten the key plateau
:03:59. > :04:06.near post! She gives men to the city believed! A powerful strike from the
:04:07. > :04:12.17-year-old. Lawless, furious with herself and her defence for not
:04:13. > :04:17.closing the youngster down. She struck that so sweetly and
:04:18. > :04:38.Manchester City finally have the least.
:04:39. > :04:49.And she was beaten that time, the keeper. The crossbar
:04:50. > :05:00.Here is standard for. Sunderland having a late surge at the end of
:05:01. > :05:07.this first half. Bronze once the first half and doesn't get it. Not
:05:08. > :05:18.quite in the right position there, the keeper. I don't think she was
:05:19. > :05:32.expecting Furness to go for goal, and in the end, she did really well.
:05:33. > :05:33.expecting Furness to go for goal, and in the end, Filed in the end.
:05:34. > :05:38.Sunderland, showing some promise here.
:05:39. > :05:46.City, looking to strike back. In the Jill Scott.
:05:47. > :05:58.Stanway! Another clinical strike from the 17-year-old. Just like
:05:59. > :06:04.that, City go 2-0 up. That is three in two games for Stanway, right in
:06:05. > :06:14.the corner. No chance for the keeper with that one.
:06:15. > :06:20.Danger not averted for Sunderland. Looking for Paris, Sharp was there,
:06:21. > :06:25.behind for a corner. Christiansen once again with the
:06:26. > :06:35.corner. The shop was on target. Furnace
:06:36. > :07:02.begin doing a defensive duty. She tries to look for the run of
:07:03. > :07:05.Christiansen. Excellent defending. A goal saving challenge by Canon to
:07:06. > :07:21.intercept. Off-line! And again, Staniforth in
:07:22. > :07:29.the right place, the second time she has done that.
:07:30. > :07:48.Stanway! And there it is! Stanway with a hat-trick! What an afternoon
:07:49. > :07:54.she has had! In off the post. Three goals for Manchester City and three
:07:55. > :08:03.goals for Georgia Stanway. This one arguably the pick of the bunch. Does
:08:04. > :08:07.it get much better than that? Definitely not. Starting, scoring,
:08:08. > :08:12.winning, credit to the team as well, a good performance, very special
:08:13. > :08:17.day. I just think she is fearless, very competitive in the way she
:08:18. > :08:22.plays as she works very hard and we are aware she's young player and
:08:23. > :08:25.needs developing, which is a huge strategy of hours with men's and
:08:26. > :08:28.women's teams but when she plays like she did and takes her chances
:08:29. > :08:35.like she did, she will keep her place in the team. We kept the ball
:08:36. > :08:41.well at times, we created a few good moments for ourselves, where we got
:08:42. > :08:45.in behind, got a couple of shots at goal which was good, we just needed
:08:46. > :08:50.to build on that. Six games to go, you happy and confident? Had because
:08:51. > :08:55.we're top of the league but there is a long way to go and hard games to
:08:56. > :09:00.play. If we keep winning, just see where we end up.
:09:01. > :09:06.Manchester City, not quite as free-flowing as last week but got
:09:07. > :09:09.the job done and continued that dominant form. And that's why they
:09:10. > :09:13.continue to be at the top of the league, they weren't firing on all
:09:14. > :09:17.cylinders but the quality shone through, they were relentless
:09:18. > :09:22.against Sunderland yesterday, some really good quality on display.
:09:23. > :09:26.Let's talk about Georgia Stanway, just 17, fearless and keeping Tony
:09:27. > :09:32.Duggan out of the starting line-up and you can see why. Having played
:09:33. > :09:37.with Duggan when she was 17, she completely reminds me of her, her
:09:38. > :09:42.fearlessness, willingness to run at place, she is both right and left
:09:43. > :09:46.footed, likes cutting in from the left, scoring from all kinds of
:09:47. > :09:49.distances but her overall play is outstanding, she's checking her
:09:50. > :09:55.shoulders when she is receiving the ball, her passes are drilled in, she
:09:56. > :09:59.finds open spaces, recognises space out wide on this occasion and just
:10:00. > :10:04.feeds in with the other team-mates, it is quality from both ends of the
:10:05. > :10:09.pitch. She gets her rewards early on, she doesn't have much right to
:10:10. > :10:16.win the ball, she does and she picks the spot. Whether the keeper should
:10:17. > :10:21.allow that to going, near post... But this one is a clinical drive, we
:10:22. > :10:28.see her team-mate setting her up for the best of the three, left foot
:10:29. > :10:39.strike from outside the box full. Comes off the pitch to a deserved
:10:40. > :10:42.standing ovation. She has been given an opportunity by the manager, it's
:10:43. > :10:46.a big call to leave it can out somebody who is 17 but it shows you
:10:47. > :10:51.what you can do if you get an opportunity and she is more than
:10:52. > :10:57.capable. Real competition for places, that helps in terms of
:10:58. > :11:01.providing consistency. We started off this season saying that they had
:11:02. > :11:06.a small squad, and they have had it in the window and they have
:11:07. > :11:10.integrated so seamlessly, Jane Ross, Megan Campbell, Georgia Stanway
:11:11. > :11:14.being given her chance, there is real competition for places and as
:11:15. > :11:23.Casey says, give players chance, they have to take the chance and
:11:24. > :11:27.keep proving. We talked about Jane Ross, highlighted her, she didn't
:11:28. > :11:31.get on the scoresheet but when teams like Sunderland sit deep and make
:11:32. > :11:38.things congested, that linkup play is vital. She is the focal point of
:11:39. > :11:46.every Manchester City attack, she has one of the best movements of any
:11:47. > :11:50.forward of the league. She can go behind, come short, she is strong,
:11:51. > :11:56.she can link other players in, great one touch play get Lucy Bronze on
:11:57. > :12:00.the ball and she is one of the hardest players to play against, her
:12:01. > :12:05.movement here is so clever, as a centre half, you know you are going
:12:06. > :12:10.to have a hard game against her. Must be a nightmare to mark her, she
:12:11. > :12:15.is everywhere. She nearly gets a just reward with the header, we have
:12:16. > :12:21.seen her score right foot, left foot, headers this season, quality.
:12:22. > :12:25.That win for Manchester City meant Arsenal couldn't afford to slip up
:12:26. > :12:34.against Liverpool, unbeaten since before the mid-season break.
:12:35. > :12:51.Arsenal very much part of what looks like being a 3-way battle for the
:12:52. > :12:53.title. No Rosie White today for a Liverpool, the New Zealand
:12:54. > :13:00.international has gone to the Olympics with her country. Into the
:13:01. > :13:02.side comes top scorer Katie Zelem, while Alex Greenwood is replaced by
:13:03. > :13:20.Van den Bergh left back. Plenty of talent for Mark Sampson to
:13:21. > :13:25.watch today. They will look to get Nobbs on the ball at every available
:13:26. > :13:29.opportunity. Carter scored but winning goal in the cup final
:13:30. > :13:34.against Chelsea, and Williams comes into play here and it is deflected!
:13:35. > :13:39.That is a huge slice of fortune for Arsenal. Exactly the sort of thing
:13:40. > :13:46.may be that you need when you are chasing a league title. They will
:13:47. > :13:47.take it all day long. A nightmare for Chamberlain, because there was
:13:48. > :14:09.nothing she could do about it. Weir has been one of Liverpool's
:14:10. > :14:16.best players this season. That is a good turn, and what a hit! Fantastic
:14:17. > :14:22.finish by Vandersay and in, picked out of the top corner, and that is a
:14:23. > :14:26.beauty. No wonder they are celebrating, Liverpool are level.
:14:27. > :14:28.She didn't even look, she knew exactly where the goal was, top
:14:29. > :14:48.polity. That is to effect finish from van de Sanden. A good
:14:49. > :15:02.save by Chamberlain, got down sharply to her right hand side
:15:03. > :15:08.there. A great save by Chamberlain. A strong challenge coming in on
:15:09. > :15:13.Nobbs from Combs. Arsenal are looking stretched at the back here,
:15:14. > :15:21.and van de Sanden is an unmarked in the middle, his shears, and a great
:15:22. > :15:26.save! That was a brilliant stop. All she needed to do was to put the ball
:15:27. > :15:36.in, side footed in, and that is incredible goalkeeping.
:15:37. > :15:43.That is an overlapping run here by the left back. Vandenberg wasn't
:15:44. > :15:49.taking any chances, knew that Carter was coming in behind her. Not much
:15:50. > :15:55.time there that Jansen has got herself forward, put herself in the
:15:56. > :16:00.box. They have worked that really well between them, and Nobbs! A good
:16:01. > :16:07.save down at the other end by Chamberlain. That was a good shot
:16:08. > :16:17.from Nobbs, it looked like it was going in the top corner. The lay-off
:16:18. > :16:23.by Lund. A break for the Swede again here, and it is going to be a free
:16:24. > :16:28.kick from Liverpool, fouled by Fara Williams, and this is a nice
:16:29. > :16:32.distance out to have a go at goal. The free kick given away by one of
:16:33. > :16:41.Arsenal's most experienced players, but it is Weir who will really fancy
:16:42. > :16:47.this, just in her sort of range. Can she work the keeper here? It is
:16:48. > :16:56.glorious! What a strike by Caroline Weir! Van Veenendaal barely moved,
:16:57. > :17:02.and Liverpool have come from behind to lead here at Meadow Park. Whether
:17:03. > :17:07.it was the quality of the free kick, that just looked too easy. Van
:17:08. > :17:16.Veenendaal I'll just took a step to the left, I don't know where she for
:17:17. > :17:27.Weir was going to put it. McCabe has done well here, and Oshoala just
:17:28. > :17:32.couldn't get the touch to it. She just tried to roll the ball through,
:17:33. > :17:37.and in the end it landed at Alex Scott's feat. It would have been
:17:38. > :17:51.offside had she got a touch to it. The seconds are ebbing away here for
:17:52. > :17:57.Arsenal. The push by van de Sanden. The delivery has to be good from
:17:58. > :18:00.Williams. A really good punch clear by Chamberlain, Williams to try
:18:01. > :18:06.again. It was a deep cross, Chamberlain couldn't get there!
:18:07. > :18:13.Just, just off target. I thought that was in. They teasing ball. She
:18:14. > :18:18.just needed to get her head on the end of it, and it just went the
:18:19. > :18:21.wrong side of the post for her. It was a good game of football, they
:18:22. > :18:23.played fantastic stuff, but so did we. I thought we were more clinical
:18:24. > :18:36.and we deserved the win. How difficult is that today jest?
:18:37. > :18:41.61% possession and 24 shots. It was hard, but he is right, they were
:18:42. > :18:44.more clinical than us, we had more shots and more possession, but you
:18:45. > :18:48.have to turn them into goals. More clinical on the day? Absolutely.
:18:49. > :18:55.Liverpool gave them chances from outside the box. We see here in
:18:56. > :19:00.Italia gets the chance. I think what she does is press the ball, at least
:19:01. > :19:03.take our eye off it. That was a well worked corner from the training
:19:04. > :19:09.ground, a pretty good save from Siobhan Chamberlain, and the chances
:19:10. > :19:15.kept coming. Oshoala really should have got on the end of this, and
:19:16. > :19:19.this towering header, shows her athletic ability, but she could have
:19:20. > :19:22.put that in the back of the net. She is strong in the air, but that is
:19:23. > :19:33.the best chance of the game from me for the white and this one? I should
:19:34. > :19:35.have scored that, and I'm devastating for my team-mates that I
:19:36. > :19:41.haven't put that away, because that is my job. That must difficult to
:19:42. > :19:45.watch back. It is hard, but I will learn from it, I have to hit the
:19:46. > :19:50.target next time, and you take a point, that was difficult game, we
:19:51. > :19:57.knew they would be difficult to play against, they are on an unbeaten run
:19:58. > :20:02.for a reason. We didn't capitalise on our possession, we were not good
:20:03. > :20:06.enough in the final furlong. Liverpool have added resolve to
:20:07. > :20:12.their offensive play. You felt van de Sanden epitomised that. She was
:20:13. > :20:17.outstanding, I thought. She covered a great amount of ground, 10.37
:20:18. > :20:21.kilometres. Attacking and defensively she was the engine for
:20:22. > :20:25.Liverpool, and if any player needed to pick the game up and take it by
:20:26. > :20:30.the scruff of the neck, she did that and was a catalyst for most
:20:31. > :20:34.Liverpool players. She gave Jansen a torrid time yesterday, with and
:20:35. > :20:42.without the ball. She is powerful, relentless in her running. We see
:20:43. > :20:46.her getting in behind, she should have finished this, great save by
:20:47. > :20:54.van Veenendaal I'll, you have to say. Maybe her positioning was found
:20:55. > :21:00.wanting on a few occasions. Now we see the build-up to her goal, she
:21:01. > :21:05.has no right to get a turn, no backlift, flies into the top corner.
:21:06. > :21:09.That really is a fantastic technique. From this angle, she
:21:10. > :21:14.squeezes it really into that top corner, but it is the power and the
:21:15. > :21:20.pace and energy that is awesome. Moving on to Liverpool's second, a
:21:21. > :21:25.superb free kick from Caroline Weir, but van Veenendaal will be
:21:26. > :21:29.disappointed. She will. Credit to Caroline Weir first and foremost, it
:21:30. > :21:34.is a brilliant strike, but when we do slow it down, break it down, the
:21:35. > :21:38.goalkeeper should have done better. They extended the wall, made it
:21:39. > :21:46.harder for van Veenendaal all to see, but she sets it out right. Yes,
:21:47. > :21:50.she is her own biggest critic, she will watch this back a thousand
:21:51. > :21:54.times, and she will know that the to steps to the left is the wrong
:21:55. > :21:58.position, maybe her positioning could have been more to the right.
:21:59. > :22:01.If it beats the wall, there is nothing you can do about it, but I
:22:02. > :22:05.like to think that maybe she could have been a little further across,
:22:06. > :22:10.and she might have been able to affect it. But that is a world-class
:22:11. > :22:15.free kick. What does that defeat mean fewer title hopes? Are they
:22:16. > :22:19.gone? I think we have to be honest and say that they are over for the
:22:20. > :22:24.season, we have to fight for Champions League. We want to stay in
:22:25. > :22:31.the top two. It is in Chelsea and man city's hands, but we have a lot
:22:32. > :22:40.of pride. We will reflect and hopefully go again. Next, Doncaster
:22:41. > :22:43.hosted a Birmingham side who wanted to extend their unbeaten run in all
:22:44. > :22:56.competitions. Emma Saunders reports. Birmingham have lost on their
:22:57. > :23:01.travels since the opening fixture against Liverpool, yet in despite
:23:02. > :23:10.their impressive run of form, only opponents Doncaster had scored less.
:23:11. > :23:22.Lyndon shot agonisingly wide. Despite a half short on action,
:23:23. > :23:30.there were chances on both sides. The bells currently sit bottom of
:23:31. > :23:37.WSL one. At times, they seem to have been there own worst enemy, despite
:23:38. > :23:43.the captain playing the perfect ball. The breakthrough came on the
:23:44. > :23:51.hour mark, substitute Kirsty Linnett had torrid time of late, having
:23:52. > :23:55.missed nine months through injury, she took less than a minute to score
:23:56. > :23:59.her first golfer to years to put her side in front. Birmingham's
:24:00. > :24:03.defensive record is impressive having registered clean sheets in
:24:04. > :24:08.eight of their previous ten matches. Keita that is the former Sophie
:24:09. > :24:14.Bradley, who did superbly to deny another goal. They stood firm to
:24:15. > :24:18.scramble the ball to safety and secure three much-needed points in
:24:19. > :24:23.the Hunter Champions League football.
:24:24. > :24:28.Just 12 days after giving birth, Reading boss Kelly Chambers was back
:24:29. > :24:37.in the technical area to oversee the arrival of Notts County Ladies,
:24:38. > :24:40.early on and off all is going to something spectacular, but her
:24:41. > :24:44.effort was tipped away by the outstretched Megan Walsh. Five
:24:45. > :24:53.minutes before half-time, it was County who got her nose in front,
:24:54. > :25:00.Dani Buet with her first goal of the campaign. Reading came out after the
:25:01. > :25:05.interval rejuvenated, Follett clearly had faith in her right foot.
:25:06. > :25:10.There was still time for a late drama. In the 90th minute, Royals
:25:11. > :25:15.defenders Rebecca Jane somehow denied Jess Clarke, and then Eileen
:25:16. > :25:19.Whelan on the line, so the full-time whistle went with Reading still
:25:20. > :25:23.looking for that first win in WSL one.
:25:24. > :25:31.Congratulations to Kelly Chambers, that is Reading's six Troy in nine.
:25:32. > :25:36.Doncaster still bottom, they do have five games in hand on Sunderland,
:25:37. > :25:44.though. A bit of a break now for most teams, but only a few more
:25:45. > :25:46.sleeps until the Olympic football starts, sadly, no Team GB but can we
:25:47. > :25:53.look beyond the usual suspects, do we think? It should be exciting for
:25:54. > :26:02.us players in GP who should be a part of it. USA are definitely the
:26:03. > :26:05.favourites. They are in form and flying, but as a national team, it
:26:06. > :26:08.would strengthen us to be playing against the likes of these teams,
:26:09. > :26:13.and it is a massive tournament that we miss out on. To clarify the
:26:14. > :26:16.reasons why, Kelly Simmons, the Football Association's director of
:26:17. > :26:19.women's football, said there is no possibility of securing a place for
:26:20. > :26:25.a GB team because of the position from the other home nations. What
:26:26. > :26:28.will Team GB be missing out on? Valuable tournament experience and
:26:29. > :26:31.life changing experiences where you work with other athletes, you see
:26:32. > :26:35.them prepare and how they live their lives. For me it was an eye-opener,
:26:36. > :26:41.and I was another tournament better off, it was for years ago yesterday
:26:42. > :26:45.I led the team out at Wembley in front of over 70,000 fans, and our
:26:46. > :26:49.sport needs it in terms of the profiler gave us. We are missing
:26:50. > :26:53.another opportunity to showcase our game, and I think that is really
:26:54. > :26:58.sad. Hopefully this will be resolved at some point. Other sports resolve
:26:59. > :27:02.it, and I don't see why football don't. He certainly do, they have
:27:03. > :27:06.whichever home nation makes the qualification criteria represents GB
:27:07. > :27:11.in their sport, so I just hope for the future, the experiences we both
:27:12. > :27:17.have, that another group of international players can represent
:27:18. > :27:24.GB in football at the Olympics. And it was only for years ago that they
:27:25. > :27:26.played at Wembley. Ireland are looking down Wembley way and seeing
:27:27. > :27:30.it packed full of people, it reminded me of a men's cup final
:27:31. > :27:35.day, that excitement and buzz is something I have never had before,
:27:36. > :27:39.and it is just unreal. You cannot buy memory is like that. I remember
:27:40. > :27:42.leaving the team out and the crowd was incredible, it was the best
:27:43. > :27:46.night of my career. You will of course be able to stay up-to-date on
:27:47. > :27:51.all the Olympic football by heading to the BBC Sport website. Bristol
:27:52. > :27:57.city were in WSL one during the last Olympus, and despite regular --
:27:58. > :28:05.relegation, they remain on course to bounce back to the top flight of the
:28:06. > :28:10.first time of asking. As the vixens recorded a first win on the road
:28:11. > :28:13.since early May on Saturday night. That win put Willie Kirk's site
:28:14. > :28:19.temporarily top of the WSL to table until Yeovil was much too- zero win
:28:20. > :28:27.at Aston Villa moved back to the summit. That is about it from us.
:28:28. > :28:31.There is a bit of a break until we return on Monday the 29th of August,
:28:32. > :28:35.where we will have the best of the WSL one action from the bank holiday
:28:36. > :28:44.weekend, including Chelsea's trip to Birmingham. That is at 11.15 on BBC
:28:45. > :28:47.Two. So, the momentum is with Manchester City, still undefeated
:28:48. > :28:49.and now four points clear at the top of WSL one thanks to a hat-trick
:28:50. > :29:00.from super Stanway. Goodbye for now. We're enjoying
:29:01. > :29:02.an awesome summer of sport,