Ellen Packham’s first-half header proved crucial as Boro Women end Leeds United’s perfect start to the season.
The Boro centre-back headed home a corner from Lauren Robson to give Boro the lead after 18 minutes, which ended up being enough to secure all three points in Garforth.
Michael Mulhern named an unchanged side from the 11 that beat Durham Cestria on Wednesday night.
Boro started the game the better side, and had a number of good opportunities in the opening stages. After nine minutes, Ellen Turnbull broke down the right wing and after her shot was saved, Eve Marshall followed up with a shot that was also met by the goalkeeper, before Lauren Robson’s final attempt went wide of the post.
Ellen Packham broke the dead-lock after 18 minutes when she headed a perfectly-placed Lauren Robson corner into the bottom corner, for her first Boro goal.
Leeds forward Jess Rousseau went into the game as the league’s top scorer, and she had her first chance of the afternoon in the 38th minute when her tricky footwork created space on the edge of the area, but her effort didn’t call Laura Wareham into action.
Half-Time: Leeds United 0-1 Middlesbrough
Ellen Turnbull nearly extended Boro’s lead six minutes after the break, when her run through the middle was picked out brilliantly by Eve Marshall, but Turnbull's effort was very well saved by Carrie Simpson in the Leeds goal.
From the following corner, a replica of the first-half goal saw Lauren Robson’s delivery met by Ellen Packham, but this time the defender's header was denied by the crossbar.
After a long period of solid defensive showings from both sides, Boro found a way through the Leeds back-line, when Jolie Donzo was unleashed through the middle. After managing to take it around the goalkeeper, her shot towards goal was met by a miraculous diving header off-the-line from Izzy Elliott to keep Boro’s lead at only one goal.
Despite a spell of late Leeds pressure, which included a few efforts dealt with by Laura Wareham, Boro secured their second win in a row, with a third clean sheet of the season to go alongside it.
Full-Time: Leeds United 0-1 Middlesbrough
Boro move up to fourth place with the victory, ahead of next week’s massive clash against Stockport County at the Riverside Stadium, tickets are still available through the link at the bottom at the page.
Leeds United: Simpson, Jakeman, Smart, Elliott, Danby, Smith, Whitman, Brown, Bartup, Rousseau, Sykes
Subs: Kirkham, Beacock, Price, Bass, Fox
Middlesbrough: Wareham, Harland, Towers, Packham, Wallis, Bell, Burn, Turnbull, Ward, Robson, Marshall
Subs: Cook, Mett, Baker, Foster, Donzo