The FA Women's League Cup kicked off early this morning for our Matildas Abroad, with Manchester City having a dream opening game beating Everton 5-1; while West Ham and Tottenham Hotspur had 1-0 wins.
The opening group stage games of the 2021 Women's League Cup saw Manchester City back to winning ways against Everton; while West Ham and Spurs beat Championship sides London City and Charlton.
Defending Women's League Cup champions Chelsea and Arsenal will enter the competition at the quarter-final stage, after being exempt from the group stage due to their participation in the UWCL group stage.
Alanna Kennedy started for Manchester City, after two games in the WSL as an unused substitute, she was back in the centre of defence alongside debutant Ruby Mace.
LATEST NEWS: CommBank Matildas to welcome 22,500 fans in CommBank Stadium capacity increase
City opened the scoring early after a brilliant solo run by Caroline Weir was finished. Everton quickly responded through Grace Clinton when a dangerous cross into the box was unable to be cleared by the City defensive unit.
Goals to Khadija Shaw, Lauren Hemp, Jess Park and Ellen White sealed the win for City, their first win since late September.
Hayley Raso still remains injured for Gareth Taylor's side, with the injury list starting to pile up for City.
READ: The Commonwealth Bank Matildas to headline return of major events to NSW in October
Tameka Yallop made the start for West Ham United in their game against London City Lionesses, helping the Hammers extend their unbeaten run to five games with a 1-0 win over the Championship side.
Lucy Parker scored the lone goal in the encounter, following in after a free-kick was saved to give West Ham the win.
Yallop had two promising chances on goal late in the second half, one headed just wide and another saved by the Lionesses keeper.
Mackenzie Arnold remained on the bench for the Hammers.
MORE: Emily van Egmond returns to Orlando Pride
Kyah Simon featured for Spurs for the first time since her debut against Manchester City, after a hamstring injury has seen her sidelined since mid-September.
Spurs opposition Charlton, with former Spurs manager Karen Hills at the helm, kept the hosts scoreless in the first half.
The first Spurs goal to Jiali Tang was the winner for Tottenham, scoring just after the interval with a low firing shot.
Simon made an appearance off the bench, coming on in the 62nd minute and making an instant impact for her side.
Charlton shot-stopper Eartha Cumings was forced to make two crucial saves to deny Simon's chances on goals.
The visitors almost had the equaliser to send the game into a penalty shoot-out decider, with the Spurs keeper just keeping out a header in the 94th minute.
Emily Gielnik's Aston Villa picked up a point in their opener. Villa's game against Liverpool finished a 1-1 tie and went to a penalty shoot-out, which Liverpool won 5-4. Gielnik did not feature in the game, still out through injury.