It proved to be a fruitful Super League weekend for three of the Republic of Ireland’s stalwarts, not least Liverpool’s Niamh Fahey who marked her 100th appearance for the club by captaining them to just their second win of the season.
Their 2-0 victory over West Ham also saw them keep just their second clean sheet in nine games, giving Fahey and her defensive colleague Megan Campbell an added reason to enjoy the day.
It was a considerably less enjoyable one, though, for West Ham’s Izzy Atkinson who was taken off after 31 minutes.
Katie McCabe, meanwhile, captained Arsenal to a 1-0 win over Everton, for whom Emily Ramsey was once again preferred to Courtney Brosnan in goal, that result keeping them level with Manchester United and three points behind leaders Chelsea – but with a game in hand.
And Diane Caldwell came on at half-time for Reading in their 1-0 defeat of Spurs, like Liverpool picking up just their second win of the season, but their first clean sheet.
They remain second from bottom along with Brighton – for whom Megan Walsh and Megan Connolly were on the wrong end of a 3-1 defeat by Manchester City – but seven points clear of the hapless Leicester City who have lost all nine of their games.
The Birmingham City contingent of Louise Quinn, Jamie Finn, Lucy Quinn and Harriet Scott were the only Republic of Ireland players to end up on the winning side in the Championship, Lucy Quinn getting their second goal in a 2-0 win away to Blackburn.
Durham, with Naoisha McAloon in goal and Saoirse Noonan coming on as a sub, drew with Chloe Mustaki’s Bristol City, while Lily Agg and Hayley Nolan’s London City were held at home by Southampton.
London stay top of the table, a point ahead of Bristol, with Birmingham another four points adrift in fifth.
On the continent, meanwhile, Kyra Carusa scored in HB Koge’s 2-1 win away to Kolding, making it 13 wins out of 14 for the Danish champions, keeping them seven points clear of nearest rivals Brondy.
No joy, though, for Amber Barrett who came on as a half-time sub for Potsdam in their 3-0 defeat by Leverkusen, which keeps them bottom of the Bundesliga, before limping out of the game nine minutes from time.
And Niamh Farrelly’s Parma stay bottom of Serie A after conceding a 94th-minute equaliser away to Sassuolo, although they, at least, narrowed the gap between themselves and second-from-bottom Como to a point.
