Lionesses move up to third after 1-0 at home to Lewes

By Football Reporter A Rebecca McKenna own goal helped London City Lionesses move into third in the FA Women's Championship table after a 1-0 home win over Lewes at Princes Park. McKenna's own goal helped the hosts edge the contest, but Lewes did have a second-half penalty saved by Shae Yanez. The Lionesses took the lead after five minutes when Karin Muya's cross in a promising attacking position rebounded off the unfortunate McKenna before finding the back of the net. Lewes felt they should have had a penalty of their own in the 12th minute when London City goalkeeper Yanez brought down Freya Ayisi in the box, but it was waved away. Ten minutes into the second half, Lewes did get a penalty for a foul in the box. But former Lionesses player Ayisi was prevented from equalising by Yanez's great save. The American dived low to her right to tip the ball onto the foot of the post. The hosts should have doubled their advantage through Amy Rodgers. First, her fierce shot from the edge of the box with 15 minutes to play went just wide. And then she had a header on target six minutes later that also did not find the back of the net. Lewes saw a late chance hit the post as the visitors failed to take something out of the game. Lionesses next visit second-placed Bristol City in ten days' time, while Lewes face the trip to Coventry United on the same day for their penultimate league fixture. To follow the action and sign up for The FA Player's live Barclays FA Women's Super League coverage visit womenscompetitions.thefa.com London City Lionesses (3-5-2): Shae Yanez, Grace Neville, Charlotte Fleming, Amy Rodgers, Jamie-Lee Napier, Harley Bennett, Hayley Nolan, Karin Muya, Lucy Fitzgerald, Atlanta Primus, Shanade Hopcroft Substitutes: Lily Agg for Hopcroft 70, Substitutes not used: Anna Pedersen, Melis Mehmet, Carly Girasoli, Alli Palisch, Annie Rossiter Goals: McKenna (OG) 5, Bookings: Muya 78, Napier 84, Rodgers 90+1 Red Cards: None Lewes (3-5-2): Tatiana Saunders, Ellie Mason, Amelia Hazard, Ellie Hack, Lucy Ashworth-Clifford, Freda Ayisi, Rebecca McKenna, Sophie O'Rourke, Josie Longhurst, Izzy Dalton, Lucy Porter Substitutes: Paula Howells for Longhurst 70, Zoe Cross for Hazard 70, Ellie Noble for Dalton 86, Georgia Timms for Ayisi 86 Substitutes not used: Laura Hartley, Shanell Salgado, Nicola Cousins, Heidi Logan, Lea Cordier Goals: None Bookings: Ayisi 45, Hack 48, McKenna 58 Red Cards: None Referee: Sophie Dennington Jamie-Lee Napier, London City Lionesses defender: "I think it was a good, resilient performance from the girls. "We've worked hard for the past weeks, and I'm glad we could grind out the three points and keep a clean sheet as well. "[The goal] I'm just glad I sat tight to Karin [Muya], and she's great. "She's so positive, driving down the line. We were lucky, but she put in a good ball, so I'm glad we got the goal. "[Shae Yanez] Our back four are so solid week in, week out. "We've got Shae in the sticks. She puts out some good saves for us. As a collective, the team work so hard for each other. "I was always confident that we were going to keep that clean sheet. She's been a massive player for us all season, and we can rely on her so much. "She's a big player on and off the pitch for us. I'm just glad she's getting the recognition she deserves." Josie Longhurst, Lewes midfielder: "It's disappointing we ended up with the loss. They scored early on, and we were chasing the game. "It's disappointing not to bring the game back because I think we were all over them. "We kept energy the whole way through. Towards the end, we had lots of chances. It's just putting them away. "I think we needed to be focused in those moments, get those runs in and connect with the ball. "We outplayed them at times. One and two-touch passing around them. If we'd scored our chances, we definitely deserved the win. It's hard to chase a game. It was that early goal, and we couldn't score our final chances. "I think we can take our energy and performance. I think we played really well, we connected our passes, one, two touches, and we stuck together. "I think we deserved more, and we'll take that into our next game and put in a shift against Coventry."