Fisk dents United’s top three chase as Blues and City seal wins

GRACE FISK dealt a brutal blow to Manchester United’s European hopes with a late West Ham leveller in a dramatic 1-1 draw.

The Irons starlet struck in injury time to dent the Red Devils’ Champions League charge with Man City hot on their heels.

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And the result saw the Red Devils’ lead on their neighbours cut to just three points with Gareth Taylor’s aces having a game in hand.

Early exchanges between the rivals were evenly balanced at the Irons’ rain-soaked home.

But United, hungry for a place in Europe’s top club contest, began to dominate possession.

And the visitors had the best, attacking chances with Leah Galton, Alessia Russo and Ella Toone looking dangerous going forward.

Toone had a soft shot at goal inside the third minute. But her loss of balance saw Mackenzie Arnold pull off a comfortable save.

A stray pass from the hosts saw Galton making a dash for the penalty box before a last-ditch 12^th-minute tackle by Irons skipper Gilly Flaherty.

The Hammers were forced into some more desperate defending moments later with Galton close to pouncing on a loose back pass from Hawa Cissoko. 

But the France centre-back made amends intercepting a cross intended for Toone, flicking the ball out of danger.

And a probing cross from Russo could have led to a chance for Martha Thomas near the half-hour mark, but Yui Hasegawa helped to clear the danger.

The second half saw United up the ante in the final third with Russo unleashing a thumping strike prompting a fine save from Mackenzie Arnold.

But the visitors eventually made their dominance count with Toone’s acrobatic overhead finish giving them a 54th-minute lead.

The Irons looked to snatch an equaliser minutes later with Hasegawa pouncing on a dinked pass before Mary Earps gathered the ball.

The later stages saw Jade Moore make her first start in a Red Devils shirt following her January switch from Orlando Pride.

United battled to hold on in the pouring rain with Earps requiring treatment in the final minutes.

And just as it looked as if the points were in the bag, Fisk pounced to head in an equaliser off the post in the 92^nd minute.

Elsewhere Manchester City picked up their fifth win in a row across all competitions after with a 2-0 home defeat of Reading.

Demi Stokes and Lauren Hemp were on target with late efforts as the Citizens kept their Champions League hopes alive.

And City leapfrogged Tottenham to go fourth ahead of Spurs trip to Chelsea next Wednesday.

Meanwhile Chelsea swept Everton aside with a clinical performance on the road.

A Sam Kerr header and a thumping strike from Guro Reiten saw the Blues go 2-0 in 15 minutes.

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And Erin Cuthbert wrapped up the win with a top-corner strike near the half-hour mark.

The result saw the Blues cut Arsenal’s advantage at the summit to two points

And the title-holders have one game in hand on the Gunners.