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London City Lionesses came out on the wrong side of a 1-0 score-line on Sunday [12 November], falling to an early strike against Birmingham City.
Gemma Lawley opened the scoring for the visitors in the 4th minute, converting Lucy Quinn’s corner kick with a thunderous header from the edge of the six-yard box.
The Pride, however, quickly grew into the contest and matched Darren Carter’s side blow for blow from thereon out.
Paige Satchell went closest to scoring for the home side, racing into the final third unopposed only to be swarmed by the Blues’ recovering defence.
Maddi Wilde tested Lucy Thomas on each side of the break, but the 20-year-old’s efforts were caught comfortably by the former London City shot stopper.
Lois Joel also tested the Blues, sending a thumping half-volley towards the net in the final minutes, but saw her effort was blocked by Jade Moore.
Any chance of a late comeback was extinguished in the 90th minute, when Emma Mukandi was dismissed for violent conduct.
Speaking after the match, Carolina Morace acknowledged that it was a disappointing day at the office for her side.
“That was a bad performance for us from the beginning,” explained the Italian. “We weren’t able to keep ball possession and it looked like we were panicking with the ball. In non ball possession, we were too far away from the opponent to press effectively.
“I saw something different in the last five minutes, but the red card for [Mukandi] finished the game.”
The Pride are back in action in the Barclays Women’s Championship next Sunday [19 November], travelling to the Dripping Pan to face Lewes in a 2pm kick-off.