Leicester City 2-1 Reading: Carrie Jones' late winner lifts Foxes off bottom of WSL

Carrie Jones scored a 96th-minute winner as Leicester beat relegation rivals Reading to climb off the bottom of the Women's Super League.

The home side heaped the pressure on in the second half and finally got the goal they deserved when Jones swept home in the sixth of 12 added minutes at the King Power Stadium.

Midfielder Sam Tierney put Willie Kirk's Leicester in front after 20 minutes with a wonderfully controlled volley from Courtney Nevin's cross.

But Reading were level on the stroke of half-time when Charlie Wellings lashed home after Amalie Eikeland's shot was blocked.

Sanne Troelsgaard had the chance to put the visitors ahead a minute into the second half but her effort from the edge of the box was blocked.

From that point, though, it was all Leicester as they laid siege to Reading's goal in search of a winner.

Tierney was denied by the visitors' goalkeeper Grace Moloney and then saw a header from a corner hacked off the line by Jade Moore before Remy Seimsen curled a shot against the post.

With Reading barely hanging on, there was a late chance for Hannah Cain after Jess Sigsworth, making her return from the bench after more than a year out with a knee injury, picked her out with a cross but the header flew over the bar.

Cain was then put clean through but with just the goalkeeper to beat she shot straight at Moloney.

But the forward made amends as she squared for Jones to score a dramatic winner that takes the Foxes above Brighton, albeit having played two games more, and into 11th - with Reading just a point above them in 10th.

Winless and pointless after nine games, Leicester looked destined for relegation to the Championship.

But they won two of their first three games in 2023 to give themselves hope and Kirk spoke bullishly of his side's survival chances after they were written off by so many.

After taking just one point from four matches since, this was a must-win game against a fellow struggler.

Before the match, Kirk said he wanted his team to embrace the pressure of the relegation battle, but in the first half the tension seemed to affect both sides.

However, it was a different story after the break with Leicester coping far better with the disjointed nature of the game and the number of stoppages for injuries.

By the closing stages, Reading were offering no attacking threat whatsoever and simply hoping to keep Leicester out with a determined rearguard action.

As chance after chance and numerous goalmouth scrambles went by for Leicester with the scores level, it looked as though Kelly Chambers' Reading would hold on for a point.

But Jones kept her cool in a crowded penalty area to slot home and blow the relegation battle wide open, dragging Tottenham and possibly even Liverpool back into the scrap.