The Women’s Super League resumed this weekend after Villa’s dramatic FA cup victory against West Ham United, ending with sudden death penalties and a spot in the quarter finals.
Today, 5th place Villa turned their attention back to the league and faced a huge opportunity to secure their status as ‘best of the rest’, travelling away to 6th place Everton.
Carla Ward’s preferred XI has become clear in recent weeks, as the manager opted for strength and experience once again. The return of Rachel Corsie has pushed Anna Patten to the bench, much like the signings of Nobbs and Staniforth have to Laura Blindkilde. Anna Leat remains unavailable so Hannah Hampton continued her turn in goal.
Villa got off to the perfect start through Kenza Dali, when the midfielder opened the scoring after 5 minutes. Kirsty Hanson made one of her typically fearless runs down the left side of the pitch and sent the ball into the centre of the box. Jordan Nobbs left it for Rachel Daly, who turned away from the defender and rolled it into the path of Dali, who struck it into the bottom right corner.
The team tried to repeat the move 10 minutes later, as Hanson drove down the right wing again but this time the ball fell to Maz Pacheco. The left-back took a shot but it flew across the goal and missed the target to the right.
Everton’s first threat came through Jess Park’s cross, which was deflected off Nobbs for a corner. It was played short to Gabby George and then sent into Megan Finnigan at the back post. She connected with the ball but could not keep it in play.
After 20 minutes, Everton grew into the game and had a spell of possession as they looked for an equaliser. Park made a solo run through midfield and ended it with a shot, but it was low and straight at Hamton. Just a minute later, Park made an identical run, shrugging off Staniforth in the process, and had another shot on goal. This time, Hampton was tested but made the save again from the bottom right corner.
George also tried to create something from the left-wing, but her cross went straight out of play and Villa took the opportunity to regain control. Nobbs had a shot at the half hour mark, which Brosnan saved, and Rachel Daly tried a creative finish to meet a high cross but the ball looped up and over the net.
Another couple of chances fell to Nobbs before half time, when Lehmann played a cut-back from right wing and Jordan took the shot first time and won a corner. The corner resulted in another shot from Nobbs, but this time it was blocked.
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After the break, the game continued in a competitive manner. Daly dropped deeper when necessary and worked hard to win the ball back in the Everton half, forcing an attack in the 60th minute to send Lehmann out wide. Lehmann’s ball was sent dangerously through the box and somehow came out the other side, with no one able to send it goalwards.
In the 62nd minute, an Everton corner was met by the defender Sevecke, and Villa were rescued by a big save from Hannah Hampton to stop the ball hitting the top of the net. Jess Park also came very close to scoring a brilliant goal after another driving run and shot, but it was narrowly too high.
Despite Everton’s best efforts, it was Villa that scored next. Maz Pacheco set up an own goal through a threatening ball into the box, which Finnigan was forced to try to intercept, but instead diverted into her own net in the 67th minute.
At 0-2, Villa’s confidence was visible and the team looked for a third. Daly and Hanson both tried to get on the scoresheet, Daly with a glancing header and Hanson with a shot over the bar after wriggling her way through the Everton backline.
Ward introduced Ruesha Littlejohn and Laura Blindkilde at 77 minutes, replacing Nobbs and Lehmann. Blindkilde made a near immediate impact with a cross to the back post, which Hanson was frustratingly close to tapping it home.
Lucy Staniforth made a particularly impressive tackle with 10 minutes to go, stopping an attack from near the corner flag and sending Villa back on the offensive. The final moments featured another opportunity for Kenza Dali, who hit the side netting, and a header from Rachel Daly that looked inches away.
The match ended 0-2 to Aston Villa, widening the gap to 4 points above Everton and keeping us in 5th spot, having played a game more. Hampton looked back to her best, but Dali stole the show and registered her 10th league goal contribution of the season. After losing the home fixture 0-1, Ward’s side showed clear improvement and are now unbeaten in five.
AUTHOR | GEORGIA HOMER
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