Birmingham 1-2 Liverpool FAWSL | Goals & Highlights

Quick thinking from Fara Williams helped the Reds move to within 1 point of leaders Chelsea as they won 2-1 over Birmingham BIRMINGHAM City manager David Parker admits his side lost out to a moment of brilliance after Fara Williams late strike gave Liverpool a 2-1 win at Solihull Moors in FA Women’s Super League 1. The Blues looked to have rescued a point when Hannah Keryakoplis struck on 87 minutes but Williams scored straight from the resulting kick-off to add to Amanda Da Costa’s first-half opener. The result saw Birmingham slip to third and, while they remain two points behind leaders Chelsea, Parker believes it will be difficult for them to claim the title. “It was a moment of brilliance from Fara, fair play to her. She spotted Becky (Spencer) off her line and did it just as we were trying to get our shape back,” he said. “But I can’t fault the girls. We changed it in the second half, and we dominated in terms of creating the better chances. Even though Liverpool were the better team in the first half, we created some great opportunities that we didn’t take. “Realistically now, Champions League football is probably what we have to look for. But full credit to Liverpool. They and Chelsea will probably battle it out now. “We’ll see what the future brings, but it probably doesn’t look destined to be our title at this moment in time.” Liverpool started the brighter and Da Costa put the defending champions ahead on 29 minutes when she fired home from six yards after the hosts failed to clear. Last-ditch tackles from Aoife Mannion denied Da Costa and Natasha Dowie chances late in the first half but Birmingham grew into the game after the break. Keryakoplis capitalised on a poor clearance from Liverpool goalkeeper Libby Stout to shoot into an unguarded net before Williams’ audacious attempt which delighted Reds manager Matt Beard. “It was a massive game, especially with Chelsea losing. I think there was more pressure on Birmingham than ourselves, because the league title was back in their hands,” he said “Fara does things like that in training. She’s one of the best footballers I’ve ever worked with in the women’s game. Sometimes you need that kind of brilliance. “It’s Chelsea’s title to lose now and all we can do is put pressure on them. When we were in this position last year, Arsenal managed to drop points in two games, so all we need is for Chelsea to slip up, and then we’ve got to make sure we take full points.” Birmingham City (4-2-3-1): Spencer; Weston, Mannion, Harrop, Carter; Allen, Potter; Simpkins (Westwood, 61), Carney (c), Lawley; Linnett (Keryakoplis). Subs not used: Baggaley, Sargeant, Torskilden, Stringer Bookings: Harrop, 61, Weston, 90. Liverpool (3-4-1-2): Stout; Bonner (c), Easton, Schroder; Bronze, Williams, Omarsdottir, Harris (Hodgson, 84); Da Costa (Zelem, 77); Longhurst (Davison, 60), Dowie. Subs not used: Gibbons, Frausing Pedersen. To find out more about the FA visit: http://thefa.com Follow us on Twitter: http://twitter.com/FA The FA Cup on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/TheFACup England on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/EnglandTeam FAWSL on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/FAWSL