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Lucy Shepherd struck before the break to fire Blackburn Rovers to a 1-0 victory over London City Lionesses at Princes Park on Sunday [4 February].
Shepherd, who joined Blackburn from London City last summer, broke into space beyond the defence and beat Grace Moloney with a calm one-on-one finish to secure three vital points for Simon Parker's side.
Carolina Morace made three changes from the side that lost to Birmingham City last time out, with captain Lois Joel cleared to play after serving her suspension, Megan Campbell securing her London City debut, and the aforementioned Moloney returning from injury.
The Pride started on the front foot, forcing Blackburn's Alex Brooks into a handful of smart saves in the opening exchanges, including a fourth-minute spot-kick from Danielle Carter.
Nicole Douglas and Chantelle Boye-Hlorkah also had chances to open the scoring, but were each denied by impressive goalkeeping and solid defensive play.
Instead, it was former London City Lioness Shepherd who broke the tie, racing into the final third and scoring with Blackburn's first clear-cut opportunity of the afternoon.
Katie Bradley spurned the travelling side's other major scoring chance, missing from the penalty spot three minutes after the restart.
"That is not the first match where we played well and lost," said Morace. "I think this bad cycle can be felt inside the players and that can create some problems where you can make mistakes when you are close to shooting, for example.
"We will do our best [on Wednesday against Arsenal]. It is a very special occasion for us and will try to do our best, despite the differences between the [Barclays Women's Super League and Championship]. Of course, we need our points in this competition."