Ground: Prenton Park (16,587 capacity)
Location: Birkenhead, England
Ticket price: £7.50. The stadium is cashless and I would recommend buying a ticket online to avoid disappointment.
Prenton Park is a rough 25 minute walk from Birkenhead Central, which is approx. a 9 minute train journey from Liverpool Lime Street (trains are pretty frequent as well on the underground Merseyline). It's not too difficult a walk, but there are two steep slopes you have to walk up on the way there.
Women’s football. The popularity of the game has grown exponentially over the last few years. Indeed, it was the Women’s World Cup in 2019 that made me take notice and then the 2022 Euros, in which England won, only served to increase viewership of the women’s game. With most lower leagues having concluded now (bar the playoffs), I initially made the decision to go north to watch a game in the SPL, however after careful planning, it was always going to be too much of a ballache (and a hole in the wallet) to do what I wanted to do, so I drew back my hypothetical net and cast it on a more concentrated area; the WSL. Most of the games were taking place down south, but there was one game that was feasible to complete in a day’s trip. That game was Liverpool vs Manchester United.
Whilst fans across the football hemisphere salivate over the fixture due to the history of the two clubs and the bitter jealousy from fans of both teams over each club’s successful periods, the fixture is slightly different in the women’s game. Sure, the bitterness and hatred of each team’s colours is still present, but the gulf in class between the two teams is much larger. Manchester United finished 4th in the Women’s Super League last season and were currently in 2nd going into the game with a win potentially clinching them the title if Chelsea lost their game against Reading. Liverpool, on the other hand, clinched survival last weekend thanks to a 3-3 draw against Aston Villa and the season prior they weren’t even in the WSL. If you are interested to hear how the reverse fixture went, well, it ended 6-0…
Manchester United boast some well known faces followers of the sport will instantly recognise: such as Nikita Parris, Ella Toone, Alessio Russo and Mary Earps. They have run Chelsea close all season; one draw being all that separates the two teams in terms of points. Liverpool have a lot of potential and room to grow, with players like the young Missy Bo Kearns and Japanese international Fuko Nagano, who has been instrumental in helping the club progress since joining in January with her technical ability. Katie Stengel, an American forward, who has embarked on a somewhat journeywoman career, has scored an impressive 9 goals this campaign and 17 since joining the club in 2022.
When I arrived in Birkenhead, I discovered that the stadium was actually 28 minutes away and not the aforementioned 20 minutes I was led to believe by the website. No matter, a bit of running and speed walking and I managed to just make it with 5 minutes to spare. The players were just entering the field as I made my way to my seat. One thing I will say though is that the organisation could do with some work. My seat, O45 was occupied so I just sat in a vacant seat, fully expecting to be whisked away. “Mate it’s just sit where you can,” some guy cried near me. This led to some confusion and an old woman seemingly a bit cheesed off that I was occupying her seat at half time, despite having a seat of her own.
I was quite impressed with how Matt Beard set his team up in the first half. He was clearly playing a low block in a sort of 4-4-2 shape with one of Shanice Van De Sanden or Katie Stengel pressing their midfield and the other hanging forward waiting for a potential opportunity on the counter. Once Liverpool won the ball back, a long ball was launched down the flanks to utilise the speed of whichever forward was chasing the ball (which tended to be the Dutch international). Whenever Van De Sanden couldn’t beat her marker for pace, she would look for the foul to win her side the free kick and she was quite sly when doing this, winning a few fouls for her side and seeing some of the opposing players booked in the process. It was clear that Beard wanted to frustrate United and disrupt the flow of the game. Unfortunately for his side, Liverpool’s set piece deliveries were poor. Manchester United had a few opportunities at the end; a cross-cum shot from Ona Battle rattling the crossbar and a great run from Nikita Parris unleashing a fierce shot which was matched by the glove of Rachael Laws, tipping the effort on the bar. One main thing to note was the performance of Russo, who was galloping freely around the field like a greased horse. Anyone who tried to tussle her or pull her down would just slide off, such was her technical skill and awareness of her surroundings. She was definitely a cut above the rest.
I did consider getting some half time scran, but with a line as long as the Mersey, I decided not to bother.
The second half started and I didn’t notice any real changes from either team. Russo was still dipping into that hole to bring Parris and Galton into play and Liverpool were continuing to sit back and frustrate United and play some counter attacks of their own. Liverpool actually managed their first major chance of the game, Emma Koivisto latching onto a long ball before firing it towards goal. Two strong palms from Mary Earps denied the Finn, who was quick to recover and catch the proceeding cross that dangled above her goal. Her first major involvement of the game and it was clear to see why she is England’s number one. At the other end, Russo and Parris were causing problems; fixing crosses into the box and trying to create openings with one-two combinations but a firm Liverpool defence was able to thwart anything that came their way. I was actually quite surprised when Parris was substituted for Luisa Garcia as she looked like the player most likely to make something happen. Perhaps Marc Skinner noticed something that I didn’t. I mean, she did come off the bench to score the winner the last game, but surely it won’t happen this…
The ball is worked down the right-hand flank. Le Tissier (no relation to Matt), works the ball to Luisa Garcia who is close to goal and…
Air kick! Not to be this time I’m afraid!
Or so I thought...
Garcia quickly composed herself after her minor embarrassment and proceeded to fire the ball past Rachael Laws’ near post. That’s why Manchester United are 2nd in the table I suppose and why they're now 1-0 ahead.
Liverpool didn’t wilt and puffed and panted in response. They managed to get Katie Stengel (who had a quiet first half) more involved in the play and her twists and turns were tying United in knots. Twice she managed to breach the defence and, had her delivery been a bit better, Liverpool could have scored an equaliser. Indeed, they should have had a free kick at the death when a United player deliberately used her arm to block the ball near the penalty area; the 4th official seemingly not understanding the handball rule (I can relate to be fair, it baffles me sometimes too). That said, the standard of officiating this game was so poor and not a good advert for women’s refereeing at all. The quality of play on the other hand, shows how much progress the women’s game has made over the last couple of years; it really has come on leaps and bounds. A crowd of over 5700 also shows how popular the sport is becoming domestically as well.
One other thing I noticed (not sure if it's a theme across women's football but I suspect it is based on what I've read) was that there were a hell of a lot of stoppages for injuries throughout the game (I counted 5 in the first half). One could argue that it was done to break up the rhythm of the game and slow the play down, but if that's the case then why were the physio's from both camps getting their daily exercise in? Thankfully, there were no serious injuries for either side.
On the walk home I could finally take the time to soak in Birkenhead in all it’s Scouse beauty and, eh, it’s alright I suppose. The birthplace of Nigel Blackwell, who supposedly turned down performing on the BBC to attend a Tranmere Rovers game.
Wouldn’t it be fun, if they gave the referee a gun?
Liverpool Women 0-1 Manchester United Women 27/05/23
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