It has been a momentous week for Everton off the pitch and Brian Sorensen’s side will be hoping his team’s fortunes start to improve on it
When it rains, it pours. For Everton Women, that old proverb has become more akin to a mission statement in recent years amid the Blues’ myriad struggles on and off the pitch, and the phrase proved pertinent again on Sunday afternoon as Brian Sorensen’s side were beaten 1-0 by Manchester United at Walton Hall Park.
At the end of a week in which The Friedkin Group reached an agreement to buy Farhad Moshiri’s majority 94% stake in the club and Sean Dyche’s side recorded their first Premier League victory of the season over Crystal Palace, there was hope the women’s team, too, could share in some of the fledgling optimism that has started to stir in this corner of Merseyside.
It was not to be, however, as an early goal from England international Grace Clinton ensured United could return to Manchester with three points in tow, while Everton’s rotten luck was compounded by what looked to be a serious injury to highly-rated summer signing Inma Gabarro.
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It has been a challenging couple of years for the Blues, whose transfer business under Sorensen has often been stymied by the club’s wider financial woes.
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The departures of defensive duo Gabby George and Rikke Sevecke in the summer of 2023 – followed by Nathalie Bjorn’s exit in January – meant there was nowhere to hide for Everton when injury struck last season. The extent of that injury crisis was such that Sorensen took to arriving for his pre-match press conferences armed with a handwritten list of absentees and, despite recruiting shrewdly in the summer, it was clear the club could ill-afford to suffer similar losses this term if they harboured ambitions of bettering last season’s 10th-place finish.
It was for this reason that news of an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury to midfielder Aurora Galli, sustained in last weekend’s Women’s Super League (WSL) defeat to Brighton & Hove Albion, particularly stung. The Italian has missed only nine WSL games since joining the club from Juventus in 2021 and is a hugely popular figure in the dressing room.
Sorensen conceded this week that Galli would be a “huge miss” for his team and it was saddening to see the midfielder hobbling to her seat in the stands on Sunday afternoon, rather than lining up for the hosts on the pitch. Sadder still, though, was the sight of Gabarro being stretchered off just 17 minutes into the first half after the Spain international was hurt in an innocuous-looking coming together with Leah Galton.
There was a deathly silence inside Walton Hall Park as Gabarro writhed around in pain before being tended to by medical staff from both clubs. She left the field to a standing ovation from both sets of fans, with Sorensen confirming after the match that the 21-year-old’s knee injury was “not good”.
“I think it’s a big one again but we’ll see when the results come back,” the Dane said. “Of course it’s not what we want. It’s not what any team wants. The problem with us is we’re really hurting when it’s two key players who mean a lot for us.
“Inma is a terrific talent. I think she showcased that in the few minutes she was on the pitch today, how strong she is and fast and direct. Of course, it’s tough. Let’s see what the scan says and we’ll take it from there.”
By the time of Gabarro’s injury, the hosts were already a goal down after Clinton had intercepted Justine Vanhaevermaet’s miscued pass and finished coolly past Courtney Brosnan. That it was an Everton academy graduate who landed that killer blow added a painful layer of irony to the defeat, providing another example of a once-revered youth product returning to haunt the Blues.
A born-and-bred Scouser who was reared at Finch Farm, Clinton has evolved into one of England’s most celebrated talents over the past 12 months, shining on loan at Tottenham Hotspur last season after being poached by United two summers ago. How Everton could do with a player like her now to spark their season into life.
For all of Clinton’s brilliance, though, Everton should have restored parity minutes after her opener when Katja Snoeijs nicked the ball off Millie Turner inside the penalty area and saw her own shot blocked brilliantly on the line by United captain Maya Le Tissier. The fact that the Blues were punished for their one major defensive misstep but could not take advantage of a similar situation at the other end of the pitch encapsulates the pervasive misfortune that has defined their season so far.
Still, Everton responded admirably to their early string of setbacks and defended valiantly to prevent United from adding to their tally, with Vanhaevermaet’s acrobatic headed clearance off the line late on a neat demonstration of the team’s continued commitment to the cause.
So far, though, that commitment does not appear to be yielding the rewards that Everton deserve – something even opposition boss Marc Skinner was quick to highlight on Sunday afternoon. “I think it affects everyone, even the fans who are watching,” the United manager said.
“We’re such a close-knit community so you all feel it. I just wish her the very best and I hope that it’s not as serious as it looks. I hope that she recovers well. Everton obviously took one last week with Galli who’s a fantastic player. I hope they get a better bit of luck going into the next run of games.”
Certainly, the fixture list does not get any easier for Everton, with title hopefuls Arsenal at the Emirates to come next weekend. With games coming thick and fast in the weeks ahead, the Blues must hope their luck changes soon or they could be in for a very difficult season.
