Last weekend ended in frustration for Aston Villa as Carla Ward’s side fell narrowly short of taking points from Manchester United. This weekend, the team had the opportunity to get back to winning ways against bottom of the league Reading.
Kirsty Hanson returned to the team after missing the game against her parent club. Blindkilde and Lehmann both started this match, while Jordan Nobbs was absent from the squad with fans anxious to learn why.
As the game settled, it looked like we could be facing another competitive afternoon. However, a back-to-front move in the 14th minute put Villa ahead when Rachel Daly reached the cut back from Hanson to finish off a well-worked team goal. The sequence started with Hannah Hampton and cut quickly through Reading’s midfield, from Staniforth to Dali before finding Hanson on the left wing.
Following the opener, Villa grew with confidence and Rachel Daly led the line fiercely. At around the half hour mark, Daly’s high press won Villa a free-kick and Kenza Dali’s delivery reached Hanson at the back post. Hanson’s header was off target.
Just ten minutes later, Lehmann doubled the lead. This time it was Dali who won the ball back by intercepting a pass in Reading’s half. Daly picked up from Dali and ran towards goal before laying off to Alisha Lehmann to score.
The third goal was scored by Kirsty Hanson in the 44th minute, but again Daly was involved. The striker won back possession quickly from a Reading defender after a goal kick and set up Hanson to score into an empty net.
Villa entered the break with a three goal lead, secured when Hannah Hampton remained unphased by a Reading free-kick and made a comfortable save.
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The second half saw Villa move into a higher gear and Daly continued to provide all kinds of problems for Reading. Just like earlier, she won a free-kick due to a shirt pull and Kenza Dali set up Hanson for the header. This shot was on target but unfortunately it was straight at Maloney.
Goal number four arrived at 55 minutes with the return of the famous Dali-Daly combination. Kenza played a pass to Lehmann who handed it back to her on the overlap and the midfielder drove with the ball all the way down the right wing, cutting it back for Rachel Daly to power through the defenders in the box to score into the bottom corner.
Carla Ward made a triple change after an hour, which included Chaney Boye-Hlorkah and Remi Allen making their way onto the pitch for the first time since their ACL injuries. They replaced Lehmann and Blindkilde, whilst Ruesha Littlejohn was also swapped for Lucy Staniforth.
The substitutes added even more energy to an already lively Villa team and the fifth goal came shortly after. Daly’s hattrick was completed with a composed finish past the keeper as she found herself through again, this time assisted by Maz Pacheco.
At 5-0, Ward made another change and Simone Magill made her long awaited Villa debut since her own ACL injury on international duty last summer. She was unlucky not to score in the 80th minute, when a diagonal ball out wide to Boye-Hlorkah was sent into the middle of the box, but Magill could not connect with the chance through the defenders and Maloney in goal.
The game ended with five goals for Villa and five goal involvements for Rachel Daly, who climbs to the top of the golden boot race with two fixtures remaining, and due to Everton’s heavy defeat to Chelsea, Villa now have a little breathing room again in fifth place. But the greatest story of the day is the recovery of three players, who have each fought desperately to overcome one of women’s football’s biggest issues today, which is ACL injuries. The team play again in two weeks time, when we will welcome Liverpool to Villa Park.
AUTHOR | GEORGIA HOMER
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Thumbnail Media Credit: avfc.co.uk
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