29 April 2024 , 08:14
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Manchester City defender Steph Houghton issued an impassioned speech to her team-mates against Bristol City while drawing 0-0 at half-time that might have turned the title race in City's favour.
Title-contending City sit top of the Women’s Super League with a six-point buffer between themselves and reigning league champions Chelsea, having played two games more.
But at half-time at Ashton Gate on Sunday evening, Manchester City, notably without star striker Khadija Shaw, toiled to break down the stubborn low-block of their hosts, who needed victory to avoid being relegated to the Championship.
Anything but a win would leave the door open for Emma Hayes’ Chelsea to catch fire and claim a fifth league title on the bounce. And former England captain Houghton, who recently announced she was retiring from football at the end of the season, stepped up to rouse her teammates after a listless first-half as the team bid to claim a first league title since 2016.
“The influence of Steph [Houghton], the way she spoke to the players and the way she drove that performance in the second half made my job so much easier,” Manchester City boss Gareth Taylor told the club’s media after the match. “Huge credit to her because that’s not an easy job. She’s really there for the team and that’s what I really like about this group, everyone works so hard for each other.”
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Pressed on what Houghton, who has been at the club since 2014, said in detail, Taylor revealed: “A few expletives. But it was more around this opportunity that we’ve got and we’re not going to come here and blow it. Blow it by being flat and not ourselves and maybe not showing the right energy.
“She just captures it at the right time with the right words. And the players really respond to her. She’s always first there in the team talk, the last one to speak to the players before they go onto the pitch. She’s been amazing in that sense. Her role in this team has changed of course but she’s done it amazingly well.”
Manchester City players celebrate scoring against Bristol City (Photo by Ryan Hiscott/Getty Images)The half-time address reaped dividends, as did Taylor moving Fowler into a more central role and pushing Chloe Kelly out wide. Fowler, the most like-for-like option in place of Shaw, broke the deadlock shortly after the hour with a splendid strike. She supplied a second goal not long after with a deft show of skill to meet Lauren Hemp's cross at the front post. City's dogged dominance was further rewarded with an own-goal from Mary Rodgers. A fourth from Alex Greenwood with the final kick of the game confirmed Bristol City's relegation and kept Manchester City' top of the table with their goal difference augmented.
Houghton, 36, knows the rigours required to win silverware having won three WSL titles across spells with Arsenal and Manchester City. She has also clocked 121 caps for her country and led the Lionesses to a third-place finish at the 2015 World Cup.
Injuries have blighted the twilight of her career, however. Houghton was forced to miss out on Sarina Wiegman's Lionesses squad that won the 2022 European championships and was subsequently not called upon for the Women’s World Cup the following summer despite a shortage in defenders and experience.
A league title with Manchester City would mark the perfect end to Houghton’s time in Manchester. And Taylor noted that the final home match of the season against Arsenal next weekend will be an emotional one for the player and the club. And while Houghton’s future remains moot, Taylor seemed to suggest that the long-time defender would not be going too far away from the club despite retirement.
“It’s a big game. But what a position for us to be in, this is what we wanted," he said. "This is the pressure that we have to enjoy. We’ve got ourselves our final game at the Joie Stadium and it’s going to be an emotional one for Steph but I think she’s going to be around with us for a long time.”
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