Aston Villa Women delivered a five-star performance at Villa Park on Sunday to the delight of the 6,489 fans in attendance.
The team performance was so wonderful that I could have chosen any player to review. Hampton was amazing in goal, the defence was rock solid, the midfield covered every blade of grass, and the strikers were ruthless!
But it was Maz Pacheco who drew my attention from my seat in Trinity Road Stand. Pacheco being extensively involved in Aston Villa’s progressive play from defence to attack, so let’s take a look at her performanceโฆ
MAZ PASS-CHECO
Bang! Let’s start with Pacheco’s touch map. Look at that left side; it was peppered with touches, and she had more touches than any other player: 70 in total. Hannah Hampton, whose distribution was exceptional, finished second with 60 touches.
From the touch map, you can gauge her average position and the progressive nature of her play. Carries: the number of times a player controlled the ball with their feet; Pacheco topped the chart with 42 total. The distance of those ball carries totalled 247 yards, again more than any other player. Of the 247 yards, 110 were towards the opponents goal. Pacheco also received the most passes, 40 in total.
In a chart-topping afternoon, Pacheco also completed the most passes, 53 in total. Danielle Turner and Jordan Nobbs were the nearest outfield players to Pacheco total, highlighting the strength of our play down the left-hand side, finishing on 37 and 36 respectively.
More chart-topping stats, you say? Well, the 24-year-old – excluding goalkeeper Hannah Hampton – had the highest completion passing distance, recording 705 yards, 361 of which were progressive. She also completed the most short-distance passes (5โ15 yards) and medium-distance passes (15โ30 yards), while also completing the most live-ball passes (54).
The most productive pass of Maz Pacheco’s stylish performance: The Assist, her first in Villa colours in the WSL. Pachecoโs ball into the box was bundled home by Alisha Lehmann; her second of the game, sealing Villa’s biggest-ever win in the Barclays WSL.
It was a thoroughly enjoyable afternoon at B6 as this squad continues to make history, i’ll leave you with the thoughts of Carla Ward who spoke to avfc.co.uk post match:
โWe knew in the summer that we needed to score more goals,โ Ward said.
โBringing in the likes of Kenza Dali, Jordan Nobbs, Kirsty Hanson, Rachel Daly, all of those players have contributed. Itโs a collective team effort.
โThere have been assists and goals from our back four; weโve got two โkeepers that have been in unbelievable form all season.
โWeโve tried to play in a different way this season thatโs been exciting. I said in pre-season that we wanted to be an exciting team to watch and play in and I think weโre achieving that.
โWeโre an exciting team right now.โ
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AUTHOR | RYAN MCKEOWN
Authorโs UTV PODCAST archive Ryan Mckeown – UTV Podcast | An Aston Villa Blog
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IN ASSOCIATION WITH VILLA BELLAS
Villa Bellas is the Official AVFC Womenโs Network. In an unequal and often unrelenting world we work to break down barriers for equality.
Our network aims to raise the voice of women and non-binary people at @AVFCOfficial We support inclusion & diversity and with our allies, we can challenge sexism and misogyny, creating a safe and welcoming environment for the fans in the stands and the women on the pitch.
Let’s celebrate ourselves and champion each other while having fun doing it!
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