Everton Women secured a 2-0 victory over Birmingham City in the WSL Cup group stage on Wednesday. The win at Goodison Park makes it three consecutive victories for Scott Phelan's team.
Zara Kramzar opened the scoring following an excellent pass from Yuka Momiki. Ten minutes after the restart, Momiki added the second goal herself, curling an effort that narrowly missed before finding the net later. Kramzar was clear about her strike. "No chance this goal was being taken off her," she said.
Key moments and returns
Birmingham threatened early when Suzu Amano struck the post ten minutes in. Everton then saw Issy Hobson injured inside the opening five minutes, with Hannah Blundell replacing her at right-back. A significant moment came with Megan Finnigan making her first competitive start in over 600 days following an ACL injury. Finnigan, along with Rylee Foster-Inman and Aurora Galli, earned their first minutes of the season.
Hikaru Kitagawa and Hannah Cain came on for Rosa van Gool and Ornella Vignola after 68 minutes. Cain forced a near-post save from Lucy Thomas, who later denied Momiki. The result keeps Everton Women in strong form ahead of a key fixture.
The team now sits fifth in the FA WSL with six points from three games. Their next challenge is the Merseyside derby away to Liverpool Women on Sunday afternoon at 12pm BST, where they will aim for a fourth straight win.
Chelsea have announced ticket details for their upcoming WSL home fixtures. The club confirmed Everton will visit Stamford Bridge on the weekend of 7-8 November. Tickets for the Category B match go on general sale from 2pm on Monday 28 September. Everton, currently fifth in the WSL, are on a three-game winning run.
