After picking up a last-minute point against Spurs last week, Aston Villa returned to the Bescot Stadium to face league leaders Manchester United.
Villa look likely to finish in 5th place, while the number one spot is still being tightly contested, so it was important for United to take something from this game. However, the 5-0 scoreline in the away fixture would make Carla Ward’s team desperate to prove their growth since then.
Ward was forced to make a change to the squad, as Kirsty Hanson was unavailable to play against her parent club. Laura Blindkilde kept her place in the attack, whilst Ruesha Littlejohn made her first start in some time due to injuries.
The visitors had a couple of chances early in the game, while Villa were still settling. Alessia Russo and Katie Zelem both made weak efforts in the first few minutes as they found themselves in some space in the midfield, but neither troubled Hampton in goal.
It was Villa that found the back of the net first, in the 9th minute, through Rachel Daly yet again. A brilliant corner delivery by Lucy Staniforth saw Daly run towards the near post and redirect the ball into the far corner.
Manchester United responded quickly and Leah Galton levelled the tie in the 15th minute. Ona Batlle’s cross meant the ball curled past Villa’s defence and provided Galton with a simple chance to finish from close range.
The Villans were undeterred by the equaliser and continued to play creative football, which allowed the game to become end-to-end. Another opportunity from a corner kick came close to another goal, but defender Anna Patten watched her header hit the bar. At around half an hour, Hannah Hampton made an instinctive save to stop Galton scoring a second, after a Zelem free-kick caused chaos in the Villa box.
At 37 minutes, Rachel Daly scored her second of the evening and put Aston Villa back in front. Kenza Dali thread a ball through to Maz Pacheco on the left wing, who played the cut back to Daly with accuracy and the striker turned the ball into the side of the goal, leaving Mary Earps with no chance to save. Daly’s brace pushes her back into contention for this season’s golden boot, levelling her with Manchester City’s Bunny Shaw on 17 goals ahead of her game on Sunday.
United fought back but were unable to hurt Villa before half time. They had the ball in the back of the net with a few minutes to go, but the goal was ruled out for a foul on Hampton. In the closing moments, Maz Pacheco defended excellently to stop Nikita Parris facing Hampton 1v1. The fullback shielded the ball until Hampton could collect, keeping Villa ahead as we reached the break.
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The second half was more of the same, with chances falling for both sides. The best opportunity for Villa came at the hour mark, after some good build-up play between Nobbs and Dali ended with Rachel Daly striking the crossbar, inches away from the perfect hattrick.
Just minutes after Daly’s chance, Parris scored at the back post from Hannah Blundell’s cross. Blundell sent the ball over everyone in the box and Parris headed with power to score through Hampton’s gloves. A disappointing goal to concede following Villa’s missed chances, as the forward was unmarked.
Villa held on strongly and a point would have been considered a fair result, until controversy unfolded in injury time. In the dying seconds of the game, the referee overruled the assistant’s decision and awarded a Manchester United free-kick, despite their proximity to the incident. Katie Zelem’s delivery was met with a strong header by Millie Turner, which won Manchester United all 3 points before the whistle blew just moments after.
It was a heartbreaking end to an impressive performance from Villa, which clearly demonstrated the growth of this team even compared to earlier this season. With a key player missing in Kirsty Hanson and the squad still light due to fitness, Villa came frustratingly close to upsetting the title race and played some brilliant football in the process. It is looking increasingly likely that the club will be closing the gap on the top 4 next season, while for now we look to secure 5th place in the last 3 games of this campaign.
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AUTHOR | GEORGIA HOMER
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