West Ham United Ladies' hopes of winning the FA Tesco Women's Premier League South title are hanging by a thread after a 1-0 loss at Cardiff City on Sunday.
The Hammers suffered back-to-back league defeats for the first time this season following a hard-fought 90 minutes at the Cardiff International Sports Stadium.
Julia Setford's squad now face an uphill challenge if they are to gain promotion to the National Division. No goals and no points from their last two league games has seen the Hammers slip down to fifth in the table, four points adrift of new leaders Charlton Athletic.
Sunday's match saw very few chances created by either side and the only goal of the game arrived in controversial circumstances in added time at the end of the first half. West Ham thought they had won a goal kick but the referee awarded a corner to Cardiff, the ball was crossed in from the left and it looked like goalkeeper Nikki Duncan was impeded as Cardiff scored. Despite the protests of the visiting players, the goal was given.
Despite having the majority of possession after the break, West Ham failed to create any meaningful chances and slipped to a disappointing and potentially crucial defeat.
The recently-crowned Essex FA County Cup winners need to win all three of their remaining matches to have any chance of winning the title, starting with a trip to struggling Yeovil Town on Sunday.
The Ladies complete their season with visits to Gillingham on Wednesday 27 April and Brighton & Hove Albion on Sunday 1 May.