The England star heads off to international duty in flying form after scoring the equaliser on Sunday before then setting up Jill Roord for the winner
Lauren Hemp continued her incredible early-season form and inspired Manchester City to another comeback win on Sunday, scoring the equaliser before setting up Jill Roord to net the team's second in an important 2-1 victory over Aston Villa.
It was a result that looked unlikely at the break, when Villa led through Gabi Nunes' first goal for the club and City had looked extremely passive. However, with Hemp on the pitch, a turnaround was always possible and her contributions helped the title hopefuls return to the top of the Women's Super League table.
The England star would have had City level at half-time, too, if it wasn't for a brilliant save from Sabrina D'Angelo. It was a rare bright spot in a rather dull first period from the hosts' perspective, with poor communication and marking from the centre-back pairing of Laia Aleixandri and Alex Greenwood the big grumble, as it had allowed Nunes to run in and convert Kirsty Hanson's cross to open the scoring.
That all started to change after the break. Villa looked more and more reserved and City pinned them in, finally getting the goal that had been coming just after the clock ticked past the hour. Leila Ouahabi's cross could only be punched by D'Angelo and Hemp was there to stop the ball getting away, controlling with her head before hooking a volley into the empty net.
Less than 10 minutes later, Hemp then turned provider for what would be the winning goal. An injection of pace allowed her to dart past a couple of defenders and cut back for Roord, who bagged her first goal since suffering an ACL injury back in January, one which secured the three points.
GOAL rates Man City's players from the Joie Stadium…
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Ayaka Yamashita (5/10):
Distribution just wasn't quick enough for large parts.
Kerstin Casparij (6/10):
Done for pace for the goal, which happens. Didn't put a foot wrong besides that, though.
Laia Aleixandri (5/10):
Had no idea where Nunes was for the goal. Passing was too slow and not positive enough in the first half especially.
Alex Greenwood (5/10):
Has to communicate with Aleixandri about Nunes' positioning for Villa's opener. Should have done more with possession too, though did improve in the second half.
Leila Ouahabi (6/10):
Got forward plenty and it was her cross which caused D'Angelo problems for the equaliser.
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Yui Hasegawa (7/10):
Could've injected more pace in the game in the first half and did that in the second.
Jill Roord (7/10):
Grew into the game and got a goal that will mean a lot to her, after only recently returning from her ACL injury.
Jess Park (7/10):
Burst into life a little more once Villa scored and was always trying to make something happen.
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Mary Fowler (5/10):
Wasn't positive enough when she got on the ball.
Khadija Shaw (6/10):
Struggled for service so dropped deep a lot to contribute to build-up and drag defenders out.
Lauren Hemp (8/10):
Always looked like the player to inspire a comeback and so it proved, with an equalising goal and a match-winning assist.
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Aoba Fujino (N/A):
On in the final few minutes to help City see the win out.
Gareth Taylor (7/10):
Trusted his starting XI to turn things around in the second half and they did, bringing much more energy and creativity to the table following a rather uninspiring first half.