Khadija Shaw and Lauren Hemp’s partnership is key to Man City’s title hopes

Washing your hands, singing happy birthday twice, making your bed — if done properly, they should all take longer than 20 seconds.

For Khadija ‘Bunny’ Shaw, 20 seconds is all you need to score a goal.

It was a dream start for City, an aspect they have recently wanted to improve on, and a nightmare for Tottenham Hotspur as Shaw was on the hunt and smelt blood at the Etihad Stadium on Friday. The centre-forward triggers City’s press and this time, Clare Hunt was her victim, dispossessed by Shaw who opened the scoring emphatically. Manager Gareth Taylor has previously spoken to Shaw about embracing her aggression off the ball and she reaped her rewards.

The lightning start from the 27-year-old filled City with confidence, setting the tone for their performance and knocking the stuffing out of Spurs, who were architects of their demise in Friday night’s 4-0 win for City.

Having scored in the first and 15th minutes, Shaw was hungry to get her hat-trick. She knew the opportunities would come if she got into the right positions. Her third goal arrived in the 67th minute and meant she became the first player to score three Women’s Super League hat-tricks against the same team. It’s a statistic Spurs centre-back Molly Bartrip said she is “not proud of at all”.

“She scores when she wants, doesn’t she?” said City captain Alex Greenwood. “When I stand at the back and I watch them, it’s really enjoyable.”

Greenwood is referring to Lauren Hemp and Shaw. The striker’s first goal was all her own work but the three goals that followed — two from Shaw and one from Jill Roord, which came just before Shaw’s third — were assisted by Hemp. She registered a different type of hat-trick and was unlucky not to score when her shot kissed the left post and then the right.

Hemp, 24, wreaked havoc down the left before putting in a looping ball for Shaw to head home her second, showed great balance as she wriggled through Spurs’ defence to tee up Roord and slid a teasing ball across the face of goal for Shaw to stab home, completing her hat-trick.

The dynamic duo, who received rapturous applause when replaced in the 78th minute, have nourished a strong connection over the past three seasons and are topping the charts in the WSL this campaign.

Shaw, who broke her foot in April, has hit the ground running and is the league’s top goalscorer (seven, more than double her nearest competitors) while Hemp is the league’s top assist provider (five, two ahead of Manchester United’s Celin Bizet). The pair have produced the highest number of shots on target (12) for City and Hemp has attempted the highest number of dribbles (33) and crosses (55, including corners) for her team.

They have a telepathic connection on the pitch.

“We’ve got a great relationship,” Hemp, who signed a contract extension in April until 2027, said after the game. “It helps. Whenever I kick the ball in the box, I always know she’s going to be there. Sometimes I don’t even need to look up and I know she’s going to be there.

“If I put a bad ball in, she’ll be the first to tell me. But if she didn’t finish one of my crosses, I’ll be the first to tell her, which is what you need in this squad. We’ve got a mutual respect.”

“We set ourselves that standard,” added Shaw, whose contract expires in 2026. “That starts from training. We pride ourselves on that. We try to connect as much as possible in training so when we come to games we know exactly what each other is going to do. It’s definitely working and I really enjoy playing with her.”

Their on-pitch relationship stems from their friendship off the pitch too. “We’re always having laughs, sitting next to each other in the changing room,” said Hemp, who was nominated alongside Shaw for this year’s Ballon d’Or.

When asked to name the three things she loves about Hemp, Shaw said: “Quick, provider and always happy.” But don’t be fooled by her happy-go-lucky attitude. ‘Hempo’, as she is known by her team-mates, is a grafter with a relentless work ethic.

“I’m always striving to be even better,” she said. “Next game, I want to be contributing more and keeping the ball more.

“Whether I contribute going forward or going back, I just want to be involved in all the goals and help out where I can. The main thing is to win the game. The assists for me tonight were important, but also everything I did other than that away from the ball was just as important.”

Taylor appreciates the example she sets for others. “(I’m a) big fan of Lauren’s. She’s such a big player for this team.”

Hemp has been criticised for being too one-dimensional and overly dependent on her left foot. She once joked that she only uses her right foot to stand on. “All three of my assists were still from my left foot so it is still (for) standing on,” she laughed. But on her day, Hemp is unstoppable.

Hemp is a Lego fanatic and said if she were a designer, she would build a statue of Shaw and hoped she would get one too — but, as is trademark Hemp, she is not getting carried away with the praise.

“He’s keen for us to finish our chances and keep possessing the ball as well as we normally do,” said Hemp when asked about Taylor’s post-match comments. “He definitely made us all stay humble.”

With only seven games played, it is early days, but if City are to win the title this year, Shaw and Hemp’s partnership will be at the forefront.

This article originally appeared in The Athletic.

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