In front of more than 23,000 spectators, Liverpool lost their first WSL game of the season against Everton, failing to score for the third straight Anfield derby.
The Reds haven’t defeated Everton since 2019, and they haven’t triumphed over the Blues since
In the fading light of Anfield, they lost.
The game got off to an odd start when Lucy Hope was critically hurt in the first few seconds of play following a challenge with Missy Bo Kearns.
Three minutes after the break, Kearns believed she had given Liverpool the lead with only 20 seconds remaining, but the goal was disallowed for a very close offside call as she sprinted off.
Kearns would have to hold off on realising her ambition until a later time.
Three minutes later, Ceri Holland’s left-footed shot cannoned off the underside of the bar, bounced on the line and scrambled away, giving the Reds another narrowly missed opportunity.
The game calmed down after the initial fervour, and Everton started to create opportunities. They took the lead 30 minutes into the match, courtesy of a header from a corner by Megan Finnigan, which ‘keeper Rachael Laws will be disappointed to give up.
Most of the away fans were seated in the lower Kop, and their cheers were met with loud jeers from the other sections of the stadium.
Beard attempted to alter the situation with a quadruple replacement at the hour mark, and it was somewhat successful. Mia Enderby had a great dive in the box that she won’t want to watch again, despite her exciting performance from the right.
As a throw-in, Everton’s Heather Payne was penalised for taking her time, reviving the WSL controversy around alleged time-wasting.
It was actually a typical amount of time to take. Strange.
With five minutes remaining, Everton came dangerously near to hitting the bar as the game got increasingly frenzied towards the end.
After that, Liverpool increased their pressure and came dangerously near to winning a few times. The audience became more enthusiastic when six minutes of extra time were declared.
However, they were unable to capitalise when Natasha Flint’s exquisite left-footed strike across goal agonisingly grazed the crossbar.
