The WSL season continued for Aston Villa and matchday two meant a trip to Prenton Park to face Liverpool.
The Reds were fresh from an opening day shock victory against Arsenal and would look to continue their fine start to the season. Villa on the other hand were aiming to get off the mark after Manchester United came from behind to take all three points at Villa Park last weekend.
Villa were without Kenza Dali again and Kirsty Hanson missed the first of her three matches due to suspension. Maz Pacheco was still not ready to start, so remained on the bench. Adriana Leon was awarded her first start in claret and blue, forming a front three with Daly and Lehmann.
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It was a slow start for Villa and two early scares came from Missy Bo Kearns in the opening minutes. One header and one right-footed shot were off target either side of the goal, forcing Villa to react. Liverpool remained the dominant side for the first period of the game, with a number of corners and chances, but Rachel Daly had a couple of opportunities of her own. Nobbs and Mayling both provided deliveries for Daly to head goalwards, but the striker could not find the target.
At 21 minutes, just when the game was starting to level out, Liverpool found their opener. Marie-Therese Höbinger found the top left corner after a weak headed clearance fell to her in the box.
Conceding the goal did seem to have an effect on Villa and the second half of the first 45 was more positive. Anna Patten swung a close range shot following a corner, but there were too many bodies in the way. Around the half hour mark, Jordan Nobbs had the best (and most agonising) chance of the evening for Villa, as Leon took the ball to the byline and cut back for Nobbs to take the shot from the centre of the box. While Rachael Laws was dragged towards Leon at the right of her goal, defender Emma Koivisto managed to make a headed goal-line clearance to stop the equaliser.
Mayling provided several good crosses, Staniforth’s freekick was defended well, and Lehmann had a shot saved just before the break. Villa had grown into their performance but Liverpool were defending well. Carla Ward chose to substitute Alisha Lehmann for Ebony Salmon.
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The game continued in its competitive nature following the restart but neither goalkeeper was really tested for the next 20 minutes. Salmon was fed a couple of through balls that didn’t quite work out, and for Liverpool Höbinger and Kearns both had cross-shots caught by van Domselaar.
Ward introduced Pacheco and Blindkilde to the game after an hour, replacing Mayling and Nobbs. Just over ten minutes later, she made a further change of Magill for Leon.
The Villans had a series of unsuccessful corners and attacks, with the new-look front line struggling to combine, and the chances we did create were not converted. The game was then put further out of reach when Melissa Lawley made a brilliant run down the left wing, setting up Natasha Flint, who rolled away from Pacheco and slotted the ball into the bottom right corner.
Although Villa continued to fight, the game finished 2-0 to the home side. After the loss to Manchester United last weekend and with the next fixture at the Emirates, Aston Villa find themselves in a difficult position at the beginning of this new season. It was a frustrating performance, which started too slowly and the absences of Hanson and Dali were significant.
AUTHOR | GEORGIA HOMER
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Author’s UTV PODCAST archive Georgia Homer
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