Manchester City had to come from behind to earn the win
Mary Fowler scored a late winner as Manchester City survived a scare to beat Austrians St Polten in the Women's Champions League.
Visitors City had started their European campaign with a hugely impressive 2-0 win against defending champions Barcelona, but they were made to work for these three points in Group D by spirited opponents.
Alanna Kennedy had given Manchester City the lead with a stunning strike in the fifth minute, driving in an unstoppable effort off the inside of the post from 25 yards.
A second looked to be a matter of time as they created a number of chances and hit the woodwork through Chloe Kelly.
But St Polten had shown flashes of decent attacks and they equalised just before the break when Manchester City failed to deal with a corner and Melanie Brunnthaler fired in from close range.
Half-time offered the visitors a chance to regroup but they were stunned early in the second half as Kamila Dubcova's neat finish put St Polten ahead.
But the lead lasted barely five minutes as Aoba Fujino calmly slotted in her first goal for Manchester City.
Fowler then ensured the visitors took all three points when she nodded home following a corner late on.
"I'm just really pleased to get the three points," said City boss Gareth Taylor after the game.
"I think it was a bit of a lesson learned. When you play teams like Polten who people expect to be an easy three points, these games certainly aren't.
"Six points out of the two games is a really good start for us."
Elsewhere in Group D, Barcelona bounced back in style from their defeat by City last week as they beat Hammarby 9-0.
Much-changed City get the job done
Manchester City had made an incredible start to their Group D campaign with the Barcelona win, a result that Taylor said was up there among the best in his career.
But this was a game that brought them back down to earth as they laboured to a narrow victory against opponents who were beaten by Hammarby in their group opener.
In fairness, this was a much-changed City side as Taylor managed his team's workload following a quick turnaround from WSL action on Sunday, when they beat Liverpool 2-1.
But they still had plenty of quality to make this less hard work than it was, with Austrian champions St Polten having failed to win any of their previous fixtures at this stage of the competition.
It looked like they would take a draw that they perhaps deserved as Manchester City struggled to make the most of their chances in the final third, but the hosts let their concentration slip with 10 minutes to go as Fowler secured the three points.
It was hard work for City, but the win continues their fine run of form, with this their sixth win in a row in all competitions.
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