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This video can not be played Everton record first ever WSL win over Man City Manchester City missed the chance to close the gap on Women's Super League leaders Chelsea as Everton beat them in the league for the first time. First-half goals from Lucy Hope and Honoka Hayashi stunned a City side that enjoyed 79% possession in the opening 45 minutes, earning Everton a first-ever victory against City in the WSL following 16 straight defeats. Everton's defensively minded set-up was obvious from the start, and it proved effective as City struggled to breach a stubborn backline. Everton manager Brian Sorensen set the home side up with his midfielders dropping deep to reduce space and deny City gaps to exploit. Meanwhile, with their full-backs Kerstin Casparij and Leila Ouahabi pushed so high up the pitch, City looked light at the back, and as the first half progressed Everton looked to exploit that by breaking at pace. After a set-piece had been cleared, City's defence failed to reset and Lucy Hope was left completely unmarked to convert Sara Holmgaard's cross with a glancing header into the bottom corner. That goal seemed to encourage the hosts and just eight minutes later they doubled their lead following a quick break. City's defence had shifted over to the right, leaving Hayashi completely unmarked to beat Khiara Keating with a deflected strike. Everton should have scored a third before the break, but Toni Payne fluffed her lines when attempting to round Keating before the foot of the City goalkeeper denied Katja Snoeijs. Centre-back Alanna Kennedy was replaced by attacker Lily Taylor at half-time and immediately City looked sharper. The 18-year-old - who scored her first goal for the club on her first senior start as City beat St Polten in the Champions League on Thursday - found Jill Roord with a dangerous low cross but the Netherlands international could not convert on the stretch. Everton retained their threat on the counter and Toni Payne surely would have scored were it not for Casparij's last-ditch block. There were a few nervy moments for the Toffees in the second half - Murphy fired over with a snatched shot before Mary Fowler swiped at Chloe Kelly's teasing cross - but in truth the hosts were never seriously troubled. Fowler pulled a goal back from the penalty spot late on after Karoline Olesen brought down Yui Hasegawa, but Everton held on for a famous victory. City could have moved within three points of league leaders Chelsea following their 1-1 draw with Leicester on Saturday, but the defeat leaves them six points adrift. Everton's second win of the season moves them up to ninth in the standings. Before Sunday's match City boss Gareth Taylor refused to use his side's growing injury list as an excuse if they were to lose, but it is clear City missed the likes of Khadija Shaw, Lauren Hemp and Alex Greenwood on Sunday. While Everton must take huge credit for their performance, Shaw and Greenwood would surely have given City more cutting edge. "We looked a bit flat today, we looked like a team that has played quite a few games recently. We didn't seem to have much energy in the team, " Taylor told BBC Sport after full-time. "Any team would miss the likes of Viv [Miedema], Alex [Greenwood] and Bunny Shaw. It's tough for us, I'm sure Bunny would have had a big say in a game like that, but it is what it is. The team are doing the best they possibly can. "We'll have to get the guys together tomorrow, see where the bumps and bruises are and see what team we can put out [against Barcelona on Wednesday]. " With Chelsea unexpectedly drawing with strugglers Leicester on Saturday, this feels like a big opportunity missed for City. City's big-hitters should all be back in action when the WSL returns in January, but overturning a six-point gap when Chelsea have dropped just two points in 10 games could be too big of an ask. After the opportunity to rate players has closed, the score displayed represents the average from all the submissions by BBC Sport users. Get the latest WSL news on our dedicated page Comments can not be loaded To load Comments you need to enable Java Script in your browser Last Updated 15th December 2024 at 15: 58 Please Note: All times UK. Tables are subject to change. The BBC is not responsible for any changes that may be made. Manager: Brian Sørensen Formation: 5 - 4 - 1 Manager: Gareth Taylor Formation: 4 - 2 - 3 - 1 Manager: Brian Sørensen Formation: 5 - 4 - 1 Manager: Gareth Taylor Formation: 4 - 2 - 3 - 1 Women's Super League All competitions All competitions All competitions Match ends, Everton Women 2, Manchester City Women 1. Second Half ends, Everton Women 2, Manchester City Women 1. Attempt missed. Laia Aleixandri (Manchester City Women) right footed shot from outside the box misses to the left. Assisted by Yui Hasegawa. Attempt blocked. Chloe Kelly (Manchester City Women) right footed shot from the left side of the box is blocked. Assisted by Laura Coombs. Fourth official has announced 5 minutes of added time. Goal! Everton Women 2, Manchester City Women 1. Mary Fowler (Manchester City Women) converts the penalty with a right footed shot to the centre of the goal. Karoline Olesen (Everton Women) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul. Penalty Manchester City Women. Yui Hasegawa draws a foul in the penalty area. Penalty conceded by Karoline Olesen (Everton Women) after a foul in the penalty area. Substitution, Everton Women. Emma Bissell replaces Sara Holmgaard because of an injury. Substitution, Everton Women. Veatriki Sarri replaces Katja Snoeijs. Delay over. They are ready to continue. Delay in match because of an injury Sara Holmgaard (Everton Women). Foul by Aoba Fujino (Manchester City Women). Courtney Brosnan (Everton Women) wins a free kick in the defensive half. Corner, Manchester City Women. Conceded by Honoka Hayashi. Delay over. They are ready to continue. Substitution, Everton Women. Karoline Olesen replaces Toni Payne. Delay in match because of an injury Justine Vanhaevermaet (Everton Women). Substitution, Manchester City Women. Laura Coombs replaces Jessica Park. © 2024 BBC. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read about our approach to external linking.