Karen Hills gives verdict on Charlton Athletic’s loss to London City Lionesses

Charlton’s six-game unbeaten run came to an end on Sunday as they lost 1-0 to London City Lionesses.

Atlanta Primus struck a late goal with the result dropping the Addicks to fourth in the FA Women’s Championship.

Nikita Runnacles’ Lionesses stay in touch with leaders Bristol City.

A feisty opening 10 minutes saw both sides struggle to create opportunities on goal, as both maintained their defensive shapes.

The first chance fell to Lionesses, as Kyra Carusa rushed into the penalty area and struck a low drive that forced Charlton goalkeeper Sian Rogers to save smartly with her legs.

The visitors had a chance on the counter, Bethan Roe glancing a header just wide after an inch-perfect cross from Angela Addison.

The hosts were on top and almost took the lead on the stroke of half-time but Kyra Ewens was denied on the volley by a magnificent save from Rodgers after latching on to Shanade Hopcroft’s corner.

The Addicks started the second half brightly and called Shae Yanez into action after some good play down the left saw Melissa Johnson fire on goal after being played in by Kiera Skeels.

Lionesses shotstopper Yanez was called into action again just after the hour, saving smartly to deny Johnson at the near post.

Charlton were reduced to 10 players when Freda Ayisi was given her marching orders for a second yellow card following a high challenge on Primus.

The visitors kept pushing despite their numerical advantage as Skeels rattled the woodwork from a free-kick.

Lionesses eventually found a way through the 10 players of Charlton just five minutes from time, as Primus fired home from the edge of the box to steal all three points.

Charlton manager Karen Hills said: “The two teams were fairly well matched. I was disappointed to have one of our players sent off and that killed the game a little bit from our perspective because we came out in the second half and looked like we had a lot of momentum.

“I felt the energy and there was that belief and quality to actually take the game to London City Lionesses in the second half. When you are a player down, your back is against the wall and you have to regroup. I couldn’t be prouder of my team and we actually looked good when we were down to ten.

“We created some really good opportunities in key moments and needed to capitalise – hitting the bar from a set-piece. If that were to go in it might have been a different story. Our defending was excellent today and had to pick our moments going forward.

“Fair play to London City Lionesses, they got the set-piece and picked up the second phase which they took their chance.

“In the first half, we were able to find a spare player in midfield but our final action in the final third was not good enough.

“It was a clear opportunity for Bethan Roe and we all know that everyone holds their hands up in those key moments. That’s the difference between winning and losing matches. We can go all the way up there, build from the back and play some nice football but if you don’t put the ball into the back of the net, it will come down to those small margins.

“This league will be won on set-pieces and that hasn’t disappointed this season. If you allow a team like London City Lionesses a set-piece and don’t pick up second balls, you are going to have players that are able to find the net and they did today. It’s probably a lack of concentration from an individual player but then why we have given away a corner in the first place – there’s always a consequence to the action beforehand.”

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