Steph Houghton reaches landmark as Manchester City hit seven at Brighton

Steph Houghton became the first player to make 150 Women’s Super League appearances as Manchester City issued a reminder that they remain very much part of one of the top tier’s tightest title races on Sunday.

City’s 7-1 win at Brighton, on a day disrupted by three weather‑induced WSL postponements, featured two goals from the England captain. Houghton started her footballing life as a centre-forward and demonstrated precisely why as she scored with a wickedly curling and dipping free-kick in addition to a more routine finish. With Caroline Weir also scoring twice and Ellen White, Chloe Kelly and Janine Beckie claiming one goal apiece, it felt an appropriate way for City to celebrate their seventh birthday.

The victory left Gareth Taylor’s side third, five points behind the leaders, Manchester United, and two in arrears of second-placed Chelsea as the WSL faced a mounting fixture backlog after heavy snow and hard frost played havoc with the fixture list.

With several matches originally slated for earlier this month having already been deferred because of Covid outbreaks, the most intriguing title chase in recent memory is set to unfold against a backdrop of congested schedules.

The postponement of Chelsea’s game at bottom-of-the-table Bristol City permitted Manchester United to reclaim top spot thanks to a 2-0 home win against Birmingham, with goals from Leah Galton and Ella Toone.

Taylor’s team seemed in the rudest of health after the return of the quartet of players who contracted coronavirus in the wake of an ill-advised Christmas trip to Dubai. Whereas United’s Casey Stoney and her Arsenal counterpart, Joe Montemurro, swiftly apologised for what they accepted were mistakes in permitting first‑team players to travel to the United Arab Emirates, Taylor remains unapologetic.

On Friday City’s manager spoke to the media for the first time in 2021 and declined to voice any regrets regarding the trips. “It’s in the past,” said a coach recently freed from self‑isolation. “Things happen. We’ve got nothing to say. It’s good the players are fully recovered. We’re looking to draw a line under it.”

City now sit one point ahead of fourth placed Arsenal whose home game against West Ham was frozen off.

The late postponement of Everton’s trip to Tottenham served as a further reminder that WSL pitches do not benefit from the undersoil heating that is de rigueur at leading men’s clubs. That decision denied the England midfielder Jill Scott the chance to begin her second stint with the Merseyside club, after arriving on loan from City.

Scott served as a player-coach under Taylor but wants to spend more minutes on the pitch as she aims for inclusion in Great Britain’s Olympic squad.