Women’s Players Cup roundup: Manchester United win eight-goal thriller as Birmingham hit five and Charlton end wait

Manchester United beat Liverpool 5-3, Birmingham City scored five without reply at Durham and Charlton Athletic claimed their first win of the season on a busy Wednesday in the Women’s Players Cup.

Mared Griffiths scored twice for United, while Ornella Vignola’s late double settled Everton’s meeting with Newcastle. Aston Villa and London City Lionesses also won away from home, and Southampton beat Crystal Palace in another high-scoring tie.

Women’s Players Cup results: Wednesday 21 October

Match	Result
Burnley vs Aston Villa	0-2
Charlton Athletic vs Bristol City	2-0
Durham vs Birmingham City	0-5
Everton vs Newcastle United	2-0
Liverpool vs Manchester United	3-5
Southampton vs Crystal Palace	3-2
West Ham United vs London City Lionesses	1-2

Griffiths double helps United past Liverpool

Manchester United emerged from an eight-goal meeting in St Helens with the points after building a commanding first-half lead.

Lea Schüller opened the scoring in the 11th minute before Griffiths struck twice shortly before the interval to make it 3-0. Monica Jusu Bah and Maya Le Tissier added United’s second-half goals.

Cornelia Kapocs scored all three of Liverpool’s goals in the closing stages, but her hat-trick could not overturn the visitors’ advantage.

The match, which featured in Dave.Sport’s Liverpool–Manchester United viewing guide, gave United another win before their league meeting with Manchester City.

Vignola leaves it late for Everton

Ornella Vignola scored twice in three minutes as Everton finally broke Newcastle’s resistance in a 2-0 win at Goodison Park.

The forward opened the scoring in the 81st minute with a shot from outside the penalty area, then added her second from Clare Wheeler’s pass.

Newcastle goalkeeper Kayla Rendell had kept the visitors level with a succession of saves, including efforts from Jutta Rantala, Yuka Momiki and Hannah Cain.

But Vignola supplied the finishing touch Everton had been missing to settle the contest, as recorded in the full match commentary.

Charlton claim first win of the season

Charlton beat Bristol City 2-0 at The Valley, with Emily van Egmond and Lizzie Waldie scoring late in the second half.

City were reduced to 10 players when Eve McDonald brought down Cassandra Korhonen in the penalty area. Lauren Brzykcy saved Ellie Mason’s spot-kick, briefly preserving the visitors’ hopes of taking something from the game.

Charlton eventually made the breakthrough through Van Egmond before Waldie headed in their second.

The result ended Charlton’s wait for a first victory of the campaign, with the club’s match report detailing how their second-half changes helped turn the contest.

Birmingham hit five as Villa win at Burnley

Birmingham recorded the evening’s biggest winning margin with a 5-0 victory at Durham.

Veatriki Sarri scored twice, with Wilma Leidhammar, Chelsea Cornet and Lily Crosthwaite also on target.

Aston Villa continued their perfect start to the competition with a 2-0 win at Burnley. Georgia Mullett opened the scoring early on before Lucy Murphy added the second after the break.

For Burnley, defeat followed their 3-2 cup win over Durham at the weekend, with both results listed on the club’s women’s team page.

Southampton beat Palace as London City edge West Ham

Southampton secured a 3-2 victory over Crystal Palace, while London City Lionesses won 2-1 at West Ham.

Nicole Anyomi put London City ahead before Viviane Asseyi equalised with a volley. A stoppage-time goal from Goodwin restored the visitors’ lead before half-time, and West Ham could not find a second equaliser.

Despite Asseyi’s contribution, the hosts were left empty-handed, as detailed in West Ham’s report and reaction.