UWCL: Man City take three points from St. Pölten | OneFootball

Goals from Kerstin Casparij and Lily Murphy secured Manchester City all three points from a frustrating meeting with St. Pölten. The win sees the Sky Blues remain top of Group D having taken all 15 available points.

St. Pölten are still without a win in the Champions League ahead of their final group stage game against Hammarby.

Starting XIs

Manchester City

Yamashita; Greenwood, Fowler, Kennedy, Ouahabi, Park, Casparij, Blindkilde-Brown, Fujino, Hasegawa, Murphy

St. Pölten

Schlüter; D’Angelo, Johanning, Balog, Mikolajova, Mattner-Trembleau, Brunnthaler, Hillebrand, Touon, Pekel, Dubcova

How it went

A frustrating first half saw relatively little action in the opening 45 minutes. Resolute defending from St Pölten left Manchester City chasing shadows throughout the first half with several good chances going begging. Bunny Shaw’s absence was keenly felt at points with City struggling to find a focal point for their attacks.

Embed from Getty Images

There was significant concern for City skipper Alex Greenwood in the 30th minute after a collision left the No.5 requiring an extended period of treatment on the pitch. The injury left Greenwood unable to continue with Laia Aleixandri replacing the stricken defender.

The deadlock was finally broken in the 57th minute as the St Pölten defence was finally broken. Lily Murphy marked her first senior start, bagging her debut goal from close range. Just nine minutes later, Kerstin Casparij made it two to the hosts, poking the ball beyond Carina Schlüter to give her side a comfortable lead.

Up next

Manchester City will travel to face Everton in their penultimate match of 2024. The Toffees are yet to beat the Sky Blues in any of their last 18 encounters with Gareth Taylor’s side. City will round out the year with a blockbuster clash against Barcelona for the final Champions League group game.

St. Pölten will round out their European campaign with a home draw against Hammarby before returning to domestic action in February.

Related articles from Her Football Hub: