Everton 1-1 Liverpool: Entertaining Merseyside derby ends all square at Goodison

Everton’s Gabby George (27) who would open the scoring for the home side but Katie Stengel (40) grabbed a richly deserved equaliser just before the half time break to hand Liverpool a share of the spoils.

Brian Sorensen brought Megan Finnigan, Katrine Veje, Aggie Beever-Jones and Rikkie Sevecke back into the side for Everton, while Liverpool boss Matt Beard kept faith with the team that defeated Tottenham Hotspur a fortnight ago. Goalkeeper Eartha Cummings would feature on the bench for Liverpool less than a week since she did the very same while on an emergency loan to the Toffees.

Despite a vocal home crowd, it was Liverpool who would start the game in the ascendancy as Missy Bo Kearns went close for the away side, the midfielder collecting a right wing cross and firing at the Everton goal. However, a collection of defenders would manage to scramble it away.

The away who would continue to pose the most questions until a looping cross from Gabby George would completely evade Rachael Laws and land in the top corner of her net to hand Sorensen’s side the lead. A goal line from Gemma Bonner a minute later would prevent Nicole Sorensen from making it two.

The goal would not dent Liverpool though and they almost restored parity just after the half hour mark when Stengel played through Kearns but the 21-year-old fired wide. The away side would keep coming and should have levelled when Emma Koivisto fired narrowly wide from inside the area.

Deserved equaliser

Beard’s side would find a deserved leveller just before half time though the always dangerous Stengel. The forward appeared to fouled at first glance but stayed on her feet to place perfectly beyond Courtney Brosnan in the Everton goal.

Liverpool would almost see their good work undone though when Laws failed to deal with a corner and the ball landed to Sevecke but the Dane smashed over the bar with the goal gaping.

Minutes into the restart, Liverpool would have the ball in the back of the net again when a well worked near post corner was flicked on by Stengel and poked home by Leighanne Robe. Much to the bewilderent of the away side though, it would ruled out for a foul on Brosnan in the build up - though replays showed the Everton stopper was blocked in the run up to the goal.

Jess Park would then miss a glorious chance to put the home side ahead just after the hour mark when she nodded wide Sorensen’s pinpoint cross. The Lioness would arrive in the box perfectly but somehow saw her header go wide of a gaping net.

Late chances

The pace of substitute Shanice Van De Sanden would bring forth the next chance of the game she burst free in the box and crossed for Stengel to tap into an empty net - though somehow Finnigan would manage to block the ball on the line to keep the scores level.

Both sides would continue to push for the all important winner to clinch the derby bragging rights though it would not come and the teams were forced to settle a point each in a richly entertaining game on Merseyside.

Everton: Brosnan, Veje, Sevecke (Bennison 71), Bjork, George (Stenevik 87), Wheeler (Christiansen 87), Park, Sorensen, Beever-Jones (Galli 57), Finnigan, Snoeijs.

Liverpool: Laws, Koivisto, Robe (Roberts 82), Kearns (Lundgaard 82), Nagano, Hinds, Holland, Daniels (Van De Sanden 65), Bonner, Stengel, Campbell (Matthews 65).