City side grind out a 1–0 that looked like a cup final, and might yet be one
A deflected strike in the 81st minute settled a bad-tempered derby and sent the visitors three points clear with eight matches left.
There was little beauty in it, and the home crowd let both benches know. What the visitors had was a plan that survived a red card on 64 minutes and a penalty appeal that the screen took four minutes to deny.
Manager Ruth Hale said she had asked the team only to “stay ugly and stay organised.” The goal, from a corner that should have been cleared, was ugly enough.
Rivals still have a game in hand. Hale knows it. “We have not won anything at 9 p.m. on a Saturday,” she said, and then smiled anyway.
