Nick Cushing signs off as Man City Women’s coach with victory against Arsenal as Chelsea thrash West Ham

Pauline Bremer and Lauren Hemp helped to end the manager’s tenure in style

Nick Cushing with Steph Houghton after his last game as manager of Manchester City (PA)

Nick Cushing signed off from Manchester City with a 2-1 win over Arsenal in the Women’s Super League on Sunday.

Quick thinking from Pauline Bremer put league leaders City ahead in the 43rd minute, the Germany international scoring from close range in the 43rd minute after a free-kick from Caroline Weir. Six minutes later, Lauren Hemp’s looping header reached the top corner, beating goalkeeper Manuela Zinsberger.

Danielle van de Donk put the Gunners back into the game in the 58th minute when the Dutch midfielder fired from close range to take the score to 2-1, but there would be no further goals.

Cushing is leaving the club after six years to join MLS side New York City FC as an assistant.

Reading 1-1 Manchester United

Fara Williams scored from the penalty spot at the second time of asking as Reading drew 1-1 with Manchester United at Adams Park.

The visitors took the lead on the half hour when highly-rated teenager Lauren James punished the Royals defence for failing to deal with Katie Zelem’s long ball upfield. The striker cut in from the left and slotted the ball past goalkeeper Rachael Laws.

A number of yellow cards were shown, one for Manchester United manager Casey Stoney, as frustrations mounted.

Reading were denied an equaliser from the penalty spot in the 65th minute after a brilliant save from England goalkeeper Mary Earps, but Zelem was booked for a handball in the box 10 minutes from time, providing Reading with a second penalty. Williams made no mistake this time, placing the ball into the top corner.

Manchester United remain fourth in the league, with Reading a point behind in sixth.

Chelsea 8-0 West Ham

Chelsea thrashed West Ham 8-0 at Kingsmeadow to maintain their unbeaten run in the league, dominating from start to finish.

Maren Mjelde scored the first goal in seventh minute, slotting into the bottom left of the goal after West Ham failed to clear an Erin Cuthbert corner.

The second came in the 12th minute when Bethany England got on the end of a perfectly timed ball from Cuthbert, and went beyond West Ham goalkeeper Courtney Brosnan for a calm finish. Sophie Ingle then made it 3-0 in the 44th minute as she managed to get her head on the ball in the middle of a goalmouth scramble following a corner.

Emily Murphy with teammates Erin Cuthbert and Hannah Blundell (Getty)

The thrashing continued from the start of the second half, Cuthbert making it 4-0 in the 52nd minute. She was lucky to be onside as she received the ball on the run, taking it past defender Grace Fisk and firing it in from outside the box. Matt Beard’s protests about the lack of offside ruling against Cuthbert earned him a yellow card.

Chelsea’s fifth goal came as England scored her second of the game in the 56th minute with a headed goal from a corner. In the 61st minute, Mjelde stormed into the six-yard box to fire a cross into the back of the net just as Brosnan thought it was coming safely into her hands, making it 6-0.

Next it was substitute Ramona Bachmann putting the ball in the back of the net after West Ham failed to clear a Jess Carter cross in the 87th minute. Finally, Chelsea’s eighth goal came again from a substitute as Emily Murphy headed home in the 90th minute.

Liverpool's scheduled clash with Birmingham and Tottenham's game against Bristol City were both postponed due to watterlogged pitches.

Brighton 1-0 Everton

Aileen Whelan ensured Brighton beat Everton 1-0 at home despite being four places below them in the table.

The first half was slow, but there was some excellent defending by Brighton, whose tactic of consistently pressing high forced Everton to routinely play back to goalkeeper Sandy MacIver.

Seagulls forward Whelan, who briefly played for Everton in 2017, finally managed to turn Albion’s dominance into a goal in the 39th minute, striking the ball into the bottom corner from Amanda Nilden’s assist.

Willie Kirk’s Everton team came close to scoring in the 76th minute when Hannah Cain was denied by Megan Walsh after making a long run down the left wing.

Everton and Albion remain in the same positions in the table – fifth and ninth respectively.

PA