The rise of Birmingham City's Lily Crosthwaite
Lily Crosthwaite was surrounded by black shirts when Shannon Cooke lofted the ball in her direction. Even so, the 23 year old was able to bring it down and fend off the pressure she was under before picking out the top corner with an audacious strike from the edge of the box.
Classic Crosthwaite; a player in electric form and turning up clutch in the big moments, and leading the charge for a side looking to win automatic promotion.
Pulling that out of the bag in the 93rd minute, not only did Crosthwaite secure Birmingham City the most dramatic of 1-0 wins over Sunderland, but she also sent her side top of WSL2, writing her name in the league’s history books in the process. Having taken her tally to eight goals and six assists for the WSL2 season, she became the record holder for goal contributions in a campaign at that level.
**Lily on the move
**Crosthwaite only made her move from Durham in the summer, having scored eight goals in 92 appearances in addition to being named the club’s Players’ Player of the Season at the end of the 2023-24 season.
After three years in the north-east, the attacker settled quickly in her new surroundings by setting the tone for both her and Birmingham’s campaign in a 5-1 win over Bristol City on the opening day. Having applied the finish to Lee Geum-min’s through ball to open her personal goalscoring account, Crosthwaite then showed her commitment with a challenge on Emily Syme that saw the ball fall for Christie Harrison-Murray to score with an emphatic strike.
An instinctive finish against Newcastle United and a 91st-minute winner against Sheffield United swiftly followed, as Crosthwaite continued to make her mark in the blue of Birmingham. She then turned provider for the second of her side’s four goals against Ipswich Town, somehow keeping the ball in play when things looked impossibly tight before squaring for Oceane Hurtre to prod the ball home.
Showing she’s not just one for late drama, Crosthwaite teed up Harrison-Murray inside a minute against Portsmouth and then scored a goal of her own to restore her side’s lead in a match that had been 2-2 but ended 5-2.
There was a muted celebration when Crosthwaite’s deflected strike rounded off the scoring in a 3-0 victory over her former side Durham. Even so, there were no signs of any lost enthusiasm in the final third, as she was back with another goal and assist against Portsmouth in her very next WSL2 match.
A swashbuckling run was followed by a perfectly-weighted pass through for the second goal of Lotta Lindstrom’s hat-trick in a 5-1 victory over Nottingham Forest. Then, showing that she will keep going on the rare occasion that her Birmingham side suffers a league defeat this term, Crosthwaite picked out Hurtre for a late goal in the 3-1 loss to Crystal Palace.
Leading the line for the final push
Birmingham narrowly missed out on promotion by just two points behind London City Lionesses last season, and this year they’re hoping to make up for the heartbreak. They bounced back from that rare defeat against Palace to return to winning ways and, yep, you guessed it, Lily was in the thick of things.
She scored an equaliser against Sheffield United with a looping shot that crept inside the far post, helping Birmingham to a vital 2-1 win. City won again against Bristol City before Crosthwaite continued the run with her spectacular – and record-breaking strike – at St. Andrew’s against Sunderland last night.
Speaking about Crosthwaite’s “perfect goal” to Birmingham City’s official channels, Head Coach Amy Merricks said: “Football’s about moments, isn’t it? And that was a massive moment tonight in the dying end of the game.”
She continued: “we all know she’s a fantastic player… she’s got her whole career still ahead of her.”
Crosthwaite may have shown clarity of thought in the moment to produce the quality needed when it mattered most, but she couldn’t do quite the same when asked about what it was like to score such an important goal.
“I don’t know, it was a bit of a blur but I was buzzing,” she admitted, adding: “The celebrations, I think, showed it all. There was a lot of excitement but just buzzing to get the three points and that’s all we can focus on.”
As she alluded to, while securing the record in such style is impressive for Crosthwaite, there is an opportunity for her returns to help get Birmingham back into the top tier for the first time since 2022.
Currently ahead of Charlton Athletic on goal difference, Birmingham’s FA Cup quarter-final against Manchester City will be followed by a match against Ipswich and then a face-off with their title contenders on the final day.
“Promotion is what everybody wants, that’s a very strong opinion from everyone in the club,” she said.
With such a tantalising fixture ending the campaign, there is an opportunity for the club’s record-breaker to become the hero again.
Words credit: Danny Lewis
