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Karin Muya scored twice as London City Lionesses returned to winning ways with a 3-2 win over Blackburn Rovers in the Barclays Women’s Championship.
Amy Rodgers broke the deadlock for London City on the 14-minute mark after a sustained spell of possession for the away side, beating Shanell Salgado with a driven shot into the bottom left corner.
Muya added her name to the scoresheet three minutes later, with Kyra Carusa providing the assist on another low shot beyond the reach of Salgado.
With Blackburn content to sit in a mid-block, the Lionesses controlled possession throughout and often found success down the flanks thanks to tireless running from wing-backs Grace Neville and Lois Joel.
Muya doubled down on her early strike four minutes before the break, taking a cross from Jamie-Lee Napier under her spell before beating Salgado with a neat finish.
“We described the first-half as a final third dream – it was exactly what we wanted to see after last week,” said interim head coach Nikita Runnacles.
“Blackburn made it difficult for us in the second-half, with hard work and plenty of tackles. I felt we should’ve had two penalties, both clear as day but not awarded, but we worked it out and come away with the three points.”
Rovers rebounded after the interval, with Saffron Jordan and Lauren Thomas finding the back of the net, but were unable to climb the mountain set before the break.
Katie Kitching, Lois Heuchan, Atlanta Primus, and Lucy Shepherd appeared as second-half substitutes for London City, with Muyanamed Player of the Match by SETL for her two-goal performance.
“Karin is someone who always causes the opposition problems with the ball at her feet and whenever she enters the penalty area,” said Runnacles. “She’s worked really hard in training and was rewarded with two well-taken goals today.”
Muya was a force to be reckoned down the flank, creating wave after wave of pressure with her combination of footspeed and close control.
“I’m very pleased with our first half-performance, we were very clinical in the final third,” explained Muya. “We weren’t able to execute last week, so I’m really happy that the patterns of play came out today.
“We really wanted to score plenty of goals today and pull off different kinds of attacks. It’s important to finish the season strong, so it was great to enjoy our time in possession today.”
Added Rodgers: “We are really happy to secure the points and bounce back from last week. I’m pleased to be on the scoresheet, but I’m even happier with the win. We obviously want to finish the season on a high, so hopefully we can pick up the win at home.”
The Lionesses head back to Dartford for their final match of the season next Sunday [30 April], with old foes Coventry United visiting Princes Park.
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