Matt Beard finally ended his Leicester hoodoo as Liverpool beat the Foxes at Prenton Park in his 150th top flight game. 

Second half goals from Melissa Lawley and Marie Hobinger, either side of Missy Goodwin’s equaliser for Leicester, handed their manager a much welcome win over the visitors after losing his last three outings against them.

Liverpool had the better chances in the opening half but Leicester were patient and got their chance with CJ Bott receiving the ball from a corner. She squared to Hannah Cain who tried to find Bott again, drilling a low ball into the box, but the New Zealand defender couldn’t connect.

Sophie Roman Haug retained her place in the side after two appearances for Norway in the international break and was denied her first Liverpool goal in the 34th minute after a fantastic save from Janina Leitzig who sent her header just across the goal.


One of the Reds’ best chances of the first half came from Marie Hobinger just before the whistle. A fantastic turn and shot from a tight angle saw her curling effort denied with another great save from the visitors goalkeeper.  

Liverpool came out on the front foot again in the second half and Melissa Lawley capitalized on a slow Leicester defence to find the back of the net after a wonderful run and strike in the 47th minute.

Lawley almost doubled her tally and Liverpool’s lead two minutes later as she found herself clean through on goal, but the touch was too heavy and Leitzig was quick off her line.

Leicester were really having to put themselves on the line in the opening 10 minutes of the second half with a constant attacking force from the hosts. Roman Haug found herself through on goal once again but her shot was saved and out for a corner. 

Missy Goodwin pulled one back for the Foxes minutes later agains the run of play. Some quick movement allowed her to switch the ball to her left foot and pick out the top right-hand corner to make it 1-1.  

After a busy 20 minutes, fresh legs were introduced for both sides with Mel Lawley and Missy Bo Kearns making way for Mia Enderby and Shanice van de Sanden. Deanne Rose and Janice Cayman replaced Jutta Rantala and Hannah Cain for the visitors.  

It was Hobinger however that sealed it for the Reds. A nice display of footwork from Jasmine Matthews cutting it into Mia Enderby as she pulled it back into Hobinger who slammed it into the bottom hand corner to secure the 2-1 win.

The win sees Liverpool sitting in 4th place on 10 points. They next take on Manchester City midweek (8 November) in the Women’s League Cup.

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