Molly Bartrip’s own goal for Spurs sends Manchester United back to WSL summit

Molly Bartrip’s own goal sent Manchester United back to the Women’s Super League summit following a hard-fought 2-1 win at Tottenham.

After an entertaining first half, the contest sprung into life when Leah Galton opened the scoring in the 67th minute with her fifth goal of the season. Spurs levelled at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium soon after through January signing Bethany England, who responded to her national team snub by scoring a fourth goal for her new club, but Marc Skinner’s United would not be denied.

Bartrip put through her own net immediately after to ensure, despite Ella Toone’s late red card for shoving Eveliina Summanen, the hosts suffered a seventh consecutive league defeat while United leapfrog Chelsea to go top.

Skinner was critical of Summanen for her part in Toone’s dismissal, but backed his player to bounce back. He said: “Maybe play-acting is a tough word but actually the reality is there is no need to roll around holding your face, right? There is no need.

“You want to see passion for your club. Yes, it is a foul and probably a yellow card with the tackle from Tooney but there is a tangle of legs. Maybe there is a little bit of frustration and we have to be accountable for our actions.

“There’s no doubt Tooney will bounce back. The thing we all love about Tooney is she is very real. We love and connect to her because she is very real and she obviously plays football beautifully.”

Fans turned up in their numbers to see several Lionesses in action and Alessia Russo, the subject of deadline-day bids from Tottenham’s north London rivals Arsenal, was in the thick of the action early on. It was no surprise when title-chasing United carved out the first opportunity thanks to a slick move where Toone sent