Late goal boost for Everton in relegation battle

Everton Ladies won their away game against West Ham, increasing their chances of staying out of the relegation zone. The Blue Girls looked much better than their last effort against the Hammers in October, when they lost 2-1.

Manager Willie Kirk went with a remarkably different lineup, with Siri Worm and Abbey Stringer earning starts. Two new names were on the bench, Jess Gillin and Sophie Slater and without any additional information available, we can only assume they are academy players:

After the Toffees dominated for the majority of the game, Taylor Hinds came close to scoring in the second half from long range but hit the crossbar. England international defender Gabby George went down with an injury in the 84th minute and unfortunately had to be taken out of the game. The Blues had to play down a player because they had already used all of their subs.

The squad rallied despite being down to 10 women and were able to not only keep a clean sheet but also finally got on the scoreboard. Here’s Hannah Cain with a cool finish into the net off of a superb assist from Simone Magill in the final minutes of the game:

Before this match, Everton had not won a game since December and while they are still in 10th place, they have widened the gap between them and relegation. They now have 9 points whereas 11th place Yeovil Town has 4.

Hopefully Gabby George is okay. A player on crutches after the whistle blew appeared to be George, but nothing has been confirmed as of yet. If so, she would be the second England international player to be injured on the squad, as striker Chloe Kelly is out for the rest of the season due to ankle surgery.

Everton Ladies’ next game will be March 24th against Bristol City.