EMILY Westwood’s 94th minute header saw Birmingham City snatch a late point against Reading FC Women at Adams Park.

The Royals, without a home league victory since August 2015, started Sunday's game brightly with Kirsty Linnett and Remi Allen both seeing efforts fly over the crossbar.

The visitors offered some attacking threat with Emma Follis forcing an excellent save out of Mary Earps on her return to her former club.

But Royals opened the scoring in the 21st minute when Brooke Chaplen was fouled in the box by Abbey-Leigh Stringer before stepping up and converting the resulting penalty.

Kelly Chambers' hosts soon doubled their lead in spectacular fashion as Jade Moore's sensational 25-yard strike flew into the Birmingham net.

However, Blues hit back moments before half time as Aoife Mannion converted a penalty after Harriet Scott fouled Follis.

The second period was a more open contest, Birmingham seeing their best chance arise through Westwood whose shot went narrowly wide of Earps’ post.

Yet it was the hosts who had the most clear-cut chances to put the tie beyond the Blues, with Kirsty Linnett seeing her header from a corner ricochet off the crossbar and bounce clear.

Birmingham kept pushing for an equaliser and their efforts were rewarded as Westwood saw her looping header sail beyond Earps and nestle in to the far corner in what was the last action of the game.

Reading FC Women manager Chambers said: “We need to move on, we can’t do anything about this game now so we have to move on, we need to get on the pitch and we need to keep working.

“We’ve got an international break and a big chunk of the team are away, so we will take it into consideration.

“We will look at how we build, but once they are back in we will be ready for Bristol City.”

Birmingham midfielder Jess Carter added: “We wanted three points, that was our game plan from the start.

“We could have done better with the goals we conceded, but to come back from 2-0 down, that’s exceptional from us and showed great team spirit.

"I don’t think they created many clear-cut chances where our keeper needed to make a save. It was a physical game, second half we should have shut them down and got to the ball quicker, aside from that I don’t think they were any better than us."

Reading Women (4-3-3): Earps, Rowe, Pearce, Potter, Scott, Bartrip, Allen, Moore, Williams (Bruton 79), Chaplen, Linnett (Furness 59). Subs not used: Moloney, Jane, Van Den Berg, Green.

Birmingham City Ladies (4-3-3): Berger, Mannion, Westwood, Harrop, P.Williams, Ladd, Stringer, Carter, Follis (R.Williams 61), Ayisi, Wellings (Quinn 61). Subs not used: Stenson, Stewart, Hegeberg, Ewers, Cusack.

Referee: Josh Smith.

Attendance: 655.