Aston Villa travelled to the Emirates Stadium on Sunday afternoon in search of their first point of the season, following defeats to Manchester United and Liverpool.
Carla Ward opted for a defensive set up, strengthened with the return of left-back Maz Pacheco to the starting line-up. Simone Magill was given a start in attack, with reinforcements Leon, Salmon, Lehmann and Nobbs on the bench.
Notably, for Arsenal, Beth Mead returned to the squad 11 months after her ACL injury. The hosts had also attracted over 35,000 fans to support them, and would have been desperate for their first league win of the season – especially with their poor recent record at the club stadium.
The first 20 minutes were filled with fouls and half-chances for Arsenal, mostly blocked by Villa’s defence. Van Domselaar caught an early shot from Kim Little, and Pacheco also came to the rescue to clear a ball that the keeper couldn’t keep hold of.
It would be Pacheco to prove heroic again at the other end of the pitch, when Villa took the lead in the 25th minute. Little cleared the ball before Zinsberger could collect, gifting Villa a corner. Lucy Staniforth provided her usual expert delivery and Pacheco was somehow left unmarked. The defender ran onto the ball and headed into the bottom right corner, scoring her first league goal for the club.
Villa had a couple of chances before the break, including a Rachel Daly header, but it was defensive work that got them through to half time.
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The second half was much more of the same for the bulk of the afternoon. Bodies were absolutely on the line from the first whistle, and Rachel Corsie required some attention after taking a close range ball to the face from an Alessia Russo strike.
Arsenal introduced Lacasse and Pelova after an hour to boost their attack, and the effect was immediate. Caitlin Foord thought she had equalised when her shot across goal was glanced onto the far post by van Domselaar. The rebound fell to Russo who tried to react quickly, but van Domselaar was there again to make the stop and Villa survived.
Ward’s substitutions came later, first with Nobbs then Salmon and McLoughlin in the final minutes of the 90. Mead also entered the game for Arsenal, which provided a huge lift in the stadium – as did the announcement of 12 additional minutes.
Arsenal’s equaliser came in the 92nd minute, through Katie McCabe. Pelova played in McCabe on the left wing for her to smash a shot into the roof of the net from an incredibly difficult angle, giving van Domselaar no chance to keep it out.
The winner, however, perhaps should have been saved in the 98th minute. Beth Mead was closed down at the edge of the box by two defenders, but passed back to Russo in space behind her. Russo’s shot was low to the right of van Domselaar, and it was possibly the crowded box that meant the keeper was too slow to get down.
Despite a huge effort, Villa came away from the game with nothing for the third consecutive week. Questions may be asked of Ward’s conservative set up, but it is important to remember that Villa have frustrated two of the best sides in the country and results will soon follow. Pacheco’s goal and a vocal away following are worth celebrating, but next week’s home fixture against Tottenham Hotspur is looking increasingly important.
AUTHOR | GEORGIA HOMER
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Author’s UTV PODCAST archive Georgia Homer
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