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Leidhammar scores again as Birmingham beat Charlton
Wilma Leidhammar celebrates
Image caption, Birmingham paid a club-record fee for Wilma Leidhammar in January
Flora Snelson

BBC Sport journalist

Wilda Leidhammar haunted Charlton Athletic again as her goal gave Birmingham City their first Women's Super League win in a crucial match at the bottom of the table.

In May, the Swedish midfielder scored twice as City beat Charlton 2-0 to steal the WSL 2 title from them on the final day of the season.

Both sides have struggled on their return to the top flight and arrived at St Andrews without a league win, each having claimed their first victory of the season in the Players' Cup midweek.

Birmingham manager Amy Merricks said she was "absolutely delighted" with the result, which lifts her side out of the WSL relegation zone.

City dominated throughout, taking 20 shots at goal, but suffered the agony of several near misses before Leidhammar's 68th-minute breakthrough.

Shannon Cooke had an early effort cleared off the line, then an impressive long-range strike by Lisa Naalsund rebounded off the crossbar and goalline before bouncing out of danger.

Charlton goalkeeper Sophie Whitehouse produced an athletic save to deny Birmingham's top scorer Oceane Hurtre but City forward Lily Crossthwaite collected the ball and squared it to Leidhammar at the near post.

With a first-time strike from a tight angle, substitute Leidhammar hit the ball into the roof of the Charlton net to clinch a vital win for Birmingham.

"That was the most important thing today - we needed to pick up three points and we delivered that," Merricks said.

"I don't think the performance was our finest - you could feel the caginess across the pitch and that is something we need to work on.

"We are in a better place and we keep pushing."

City move up to 11th with the win, while Charlton remain bottom with zero points after seven games.

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