- Albion draw 1-1 with fourth-placed Manchester United
- United go in front through an own goal inside 30 seconds
- Aileen Whelan scores her fifth of the season to level just before the break
- Albion stay ninth and head to Crystal Palace on Sunday in the FA Cup
Hope Powell’s team fell behind inside 30 seconds but Whelan headed home the equaliser just before the break and Albion might have won it in the second half when Kayleigh Green twice went close.
Albion were boosted by the return of Lea Le Garrec, after she missed the 1-0 win over Everton, but they made the worst possible start, conceding within 30 seconds of kick-off.
Megan Walsh was deceived by left-wing cross from Ella Toone which hit the inside of the far post then rebounded off the goalkeeper and into the net.
Walsh was soon making a good stop to parry Jackie Groenen’s effort but Albion gradually began to get to grips with their visitors, and Whelan wasn’t far away from equalising midway through the first half, when her right-foot shot from Green’s cross went a yard wide. Le Garrec then tried her luck from 35 yards but United keeper Mary Earps made the save.
Albion’s perseverance paid off just before the break. A right-wing cross by Barton caused panic in the United six-yard box, Green flicked it on and Whelan rose highest to head the ball over the line.
It was no more than they deserved and Albion set about trying to add to it after the break.
Whelan tested Earps again early in the second half after Le Garrec’s pass found her onside but the United keeper was able to make a comfortable save from Whelan’s low drive.
Whelan then had to stretch to get a shot away after Megan Connolly flicked on Amanda Nilden’s corner, but couldn’t keep it on target before Earps made a great save in the 71st minute when she got down to keep out Green’s shot from ten yards, after the Welsh international was put through by Nilden.
Albion went close again when substitute Ini Umotong kept skipper Dani Bowman’s free kick in play and found Green, but her shot from an angle was always rising over the crossbar. Albion had an even better chance in the last minute when Umotong chased down a loose ball and her pull-back picked out Green but she dragged her shot wide.
United offered little threat in the second half but Maya Le Tissier produced two superbly-timed tackles inside her own penalty area when the visitors threatened on the break.
A point apiece then, but after losing 4-0 in the return game earlier in the season, this provided more evidence of Albion’s improvement in the second half of the season.
ALBION: Walsh, Barton, Le Tissier, Kerkdijk (Umotong 75), Gibbons, Bowman, Connolly, Nilden, Green, Le Garrec (Williams 75), A.Whelan.
SUBS NOT USED: Fiskerstrand (GK), Roe, Natkiel, Lundorf, Simpkins.
ATTENDANCE: 903