The Jamaica international looked to have secured victory for Gareth Taylor's side, but the Irons hit back in the final seconds
Manchester City's hopes of securing Women's Champions League football for next season suffered another blow on Wednesday as they were held to a 1-1 draw away at West Ham.
Women's Super League top scorer Khadija Shaw started on the bench as City boss Gareth Taylor made six changes to his starting XI and, perhaps unsurprisingly, saw his team put in a disjointed performance in the first half. January signing Kerolin fired wide early on and Lily Murphy swung an ambitious shot in the arms of goalkeeper Kinga Szemik, but that was about as good as it got for the visitors.
Indeed, City had Ayaka Yamashita to thank for ensuring the scoreline was still goalless heading into the break. The Japan international had to be at full stretch to deny Seraina Piubel and was then alert to keep out Riko Ueki just seconds before the whistle blew for half-time.
City continued to toil after the break, and it was no surprise to see Taylor send on Shaw in a bid to break the deadlock. The substitute made an instant impact and almost scored with an acrobatic overhead kick as the visitors began to ramp up the threat.
Laura Wienroither then went even closer with an effort that hit the woodwork from a corner, before the pressure eventually told with just 10 minutes of normal time remaining, as Mary Fowler swung in a lovely ball for Shaw to knock past Szemik from close range, which looked like being enough to secure the win.
However, West Ham refused to give up hope and equalised in stoppage time as Ueki did well to feed Manuela Pavi down the left, who cut inside and fired past Yamashita to rescue a point.
GOAL rates City's players from the Chigwell Construction Stadium…
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Ayaka Yamashita (7/10):
Made some good saves in the first half. Dived well to keep out Puibel's effort and then had to be alert to deny Ueki before finally being beaten late one.
Laura Wienroither (7/10):
Looked strong in defence on her first appearance since joining on loan from Arsenal. Almost scored too, but her effort hit the woodwork.
Laia Aleixandri (6/10):
Another solid showing at the back on her 50th appearance for City.
Gracie Prior (5/10):
Might have done better for the goal but couldn't get close enough to stop Pavi.
Kerstin Casparij (5/10):
Also celebrated a half-century of appearances, but only made it to half-time before being replaced.
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Yui Hasegawa (5/10):
A typically neat and tidy performance, but took a while to get going.
Jill Roord (6/10):
Looked a bit rusty in the first half, but improved as the game wore on. One charge forward almost yielded a goal.
Jess Park (5/10):
Looked really lively initially but wasn't as influential as she would have hoped. One good corner almost brought a goal.
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Mary Fowler (7/10):
Had a quiet game, but swung in a lovely cross for Shaw to bag the opener.
Kerolin (5/10):
A few bright moments, and fired an early shot wide, but did not provide enough threat.
Lily Murphy (5/10):
Had a great chance to open the scoring on the hour, but her shot was far too timid and easily saved.
Subs & Manager
Leila Ouahabi (7/10):
Helped City get further up the pitch after being introduced at half-time.
Bunny Shaw (8/10):
Sent on with 25 minutes to go and City instantly looked more dangerous. Went on to score, but it wasn't quite enough.
Laura Coombs (6/10):
Made her return from injury and replaced Kerolin.
Vivianne Miedema (6/10):
Also thrown in with City toiling and was lurking in the box when Shaw scored.
Gareth Taylor (5/10):
Freshened up his team but saw City struggle in the first half. Threw on his big names in the hope of getting the win, but Pavi's late strike will be a massive setback.