Late Johnson Strike Seals Durham Draw For City's Women

Sarah Robson’s strike on the stroke of half-time gave the visitors a narrow lead, but City’s top goalscorer, Melissa Johnson, netted her eighth of the season with eight minutes to go.

Leicester started their final home fixture of the 2018/19 campaign brightly, but had to adapt when midfielder Simran Jhamat, who signed from Liverpool last month sustained an injury.

With Sophie Domingo able to step into her shoes for the remaining 72 minutes, City’s women seemed dominant but fell behind with seconds to go of the first half in Quorn.

A swift attacking move from Durham ended with the ball landing at the feet of Robson, who fired the ball into City goalkeeper Demi Lambourne’s bottom corner.

As Leicester pressed for an equaliser, Rachel Brown and Melissa Johnson were introduced with 20 minutes to go, replacing Hayley James and Libby Smith respectively.

With 82 minutes on the clock, the home side finally earned a reward for their efforts when Melissa Johnson pounced in Durham’s penalty area to poke the ball home from close range.

City's women are now seventh in the FA Women's Championship table, with 21 points from 19 games, while they head to Charlton Athletic on Saturday 11 May (5:30pm BST kick-off).

The details…

City: Lambourne, Franklin-Fraiture, Jackson, Axten, James (Brown 69'), Dugmore, N. Johnson (c), L. Johnson, Moncaster, Smith (M. Johnson 69'), Jhamat (Domingo 18')

Subs not used: Charlton, Nymoen, Worts, Hudson

Goal: M. Johnson 82'