Last week’s win over Everton meant that Aston Villa entered today’s WSL match in 5th spot, 4 points ahead of the Toffees.
Today’s game against West Ham was an opportunity to extend our unbeaten run to 6 in all competitions and further solidify our position in the league.
In recent history, this fixture has not been without drama – the FA cup game just two weeks ago featured a controversially ruled-out goal for the Villans, and the reverse league fixture saw both clubs and defender Hawa Cissoko charged with violent behaviour and improper conduct.
Carla Ward selected her tried and tested starting XI, with Hannah Hampton keeping her place in goal with Anna Leat still unavailable. West Ham welcomed back club captain and their season’s highest scorer Dagny Brynjarsdottir to the bench after missing the last game through illness.
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The game opened slowly, with both teams finding their feet for the first ten minutes. Villa’s first chance came in the form of a free kick, won by Lehmann on the right wing. Dali’s ball into the box was headed away to Jordan Nobbs, whose shot was too high. Nobbs had another opportunity a few minutes later when Sarah Mayling battled brilliantly down the right hand side. Nobbs controlled the ball well but, again, could not keep the shot down.
West Ham had their first major chance in the 17th minute, when the shot came in from Shimizu following the pull-back from Smith. Shimizu’s shot was heading goalwards, and may have hit the back of the net if it weren’t for a fantastic block by Maz Pacheco. The resulting corner was collected easily by Hampton.
Hampton was called into action again before the half hour mark. Asseyi charged into the Villa box on a counter-attack, but Hampton managed to tip the curling shot onto the post. Thestrup tried to score the rebound, but Hampton was there again to make the save.
The deadlock was broken in the 34th minute, when West Ham were trying to play out from the back. Hanson was able to get a toe to one of their passes and the interception set up Rachel Daly for the shot. Daly found herself in space and picked her spot, curling the shot past Arnold into the right of the net. Villa were 0-1 up and Daly had her 11th league goal of the season.
Villa played a few more impressive moves, but could not find a second goal before half time. Dali was involved and played Nobbs out wide, who floated a ball into Corsie at the back post but she couldn’t bring it down. Dali also had a shot herself moments before the break, assisted by Pacheco, but it was too high to trouble Arnold.
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In the second half, Villa tried to keep control of the game as they searched for a second. Mayling continued to play to her attacking strengths, even getting into the box and winning a corner. The corner was played deep and Dan Turner’s volley was deflected up and over the bar by Brynjarsdottir, who had come on for the second half.
At 62 minutes, Villa’s lead was doubled by Jordan Nobbs. Credit must be given to the whole team, as the build up was beautifully made and Dali found Hanson, who then set up Nobbs to poke home from close range.
Laura Blindkilde and Emily Gielnik replaced Jordan Nobbs and Alisha Lehamnn after around 70 minutes. Blindkilde almost made an immediate impact, playing a ball into Daly who was facing away from goal. Daly was unable to turn fully into the shot and was held off well by Fisk. Gielnik was also close to creating for Daly but after lobbing the keeper, Daly’s tap-in was flagged offside.
West Ham had an offside goal of their own; crucially, Hampton pushed the ball onto the bar just seconds before Asseyi scored the offside goal on the rebound. After this warning, Asseyi scored a legitimate goal a few minutes later. West Ham pulled one back as she headed home a cross from Brynjarsdottir at the back post.
The hosts put pressure on Villa following the goal and Carla Ward decided to make a swap in midfield by introducing Ruesha Littlejohn for Kenza Dali. Sadly, her appearance was cut short after her own challenge caused her an injury and she left the field with her knee strapped up. Anna Patten came on for the final minutes, and Villa saw out the victory.
Unbeaten in the WSL for 2023, Villa continue their excellent run of form ahead of the FA Cup quarter final next weekend, when we take on Manchester City.
AUTHOR | GEORGIA HOMER
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