Everton salvaged a late draw against Aston Villa, after Veatriki Sarri’s last-minute intervention cancelled out Rachel Daly’s first half header. This was Everton’s first match of 2025 after their FA Cup tie with Spurs was postponed, and their first since the Friedkin Group concluded their takeover, ending years of financial uncertainty at the club. Their influence could be felt on the team sheets, with new signings already brought in to help secure WSL Football for another season. Hayley Ladd was drafted straight into the midfield, whilst Kelly Gago, signed from Nates in late December, and loan signing Emily Watson, had to contend with places on the bench.
For Aston Villa, they still found themselves without a full-time manager following Robert de Paul’s departure in December. But under interim manager Shaun Goater, Villa were enjoying a bit of a mini-revival, having won their last three matches in all competitions.
The Lineups
EVE: Brosnan, H. Payne, Finnigan, Fernández, Hope, Wheeler, Vanhaevermaet, Hayashi, Ladd, T. Payne, Snoeijs
AVL: D’Angelo, Maritz, Paten, Turner, Tomás, Baijings, Nobbs, Leon, Daly, Salmon, Gabi Nunes.
The Action
Aston Villa started the better of the two sides, comfortably retaining possession as Everton sat off them, sitting deep in their defensive shape. They targeted the Toffees flanks, with Ebony Salmon getting a lot of joy out of Heather Payne. It was Salmon with the first moment of danger, cutting inside and unleashing a curler that Courtney Brosnan did well to tip behind. She was worked again just seconds later, tipping over Anna Patten’s flicked header.
It was the start of a very busy night for Brosnan, as both Salmon and Adriana Leon made darting runs down Everton’s right flank that required Brosnan to be alert at her near post to neutralise them. But as the half progressed, with Aston Villa unable to capitalise on their dominance, Everton started to become more adventurous, edging out of their deep defensive shape to try and pick Villa off on the counter. Ironically, it was what led to them going behind.
Following a rare venture into opposition territory, Aston Villa countered ruthlessly. Leon charged into the empty space that was once Everton’s left side. With Everton scrambling to get the numbers back, the ball came to Noelle Maritz on the right wing , and her whipped delivery was headed beyond the despairing dive of Brosnan by Daly to give Villa a deserved lead. One goal nearly became two, as Salmon sent Leon clear with a brilliant pass through the Everton defence. But again, Brosnan was quick to deal with the threat, closing down the chance and smothering the shot.
The second half saw Aston Villa pick up where they left off, being in control of the contest. They won a free kick on the edge of the Everton penalty area, and Gabi Nunes’ effort was destined for the top corner, if it wasn’t for Brosnan again coming to Everton’s rescue, tipping the effort wide of the post.
Having seen enough, Brian Sorensen made a drastic triple change, taking off Toni Payne, Justine Vanhaevermaet and Katja Snoeijs and giving Gago, Watson their first minutes for Everton, along with Melissa Lawley.
But it was Villa who remained on top, Salmon making another dangerous burst into the box, only to shoot straight at Brosnan at her near post with her teammates waiting for the cross. Goater then opted to shuffle his pack, introducing Kirsty Hanson and Miri Taylor off the bench to freshen up the Villa attack. Both came close to sealing the victory for their team. Hansen went on a barnstorming run through the Everton half, only to run out of ideas in the Everton box. Taylor went close with a drive towards the bottom corner, only for Brosnan again being equal to it and diverting it away to safety.
Brosnan was all that stood between Villa and three points secured. No matter what questions they posed, the Irish keeper had the answer. And whilst it remained 1-0, there was always a chance Everton could sneak their way back into a contest that until now they had been absent from. As the clock ticked past 75, Aston Villa began to run out of steam, and Everton, aided by the introduction of Sarri and Louna Ribadeira off the bench, began to gain a foothold in the match, albeit without offering much of an initial threat.
Everton’s primary method of attack was limited to aimless crosses into the Villa penalty area. With time ticking away, it looked as though Villa would see this out, only for one of Everton’s aerial balls to finally hit its mark.
With 89 minutes on the clock, Lawley’s delivery from the right was not dealt with properly by the Aston Villa defence, leading to a chaotic scramble on the edge of the box. The ball came to the feet of Sarri, who fired a bullet of a strike into the bottom corner of Sabrina D’Angelo’s net. Aston Villa had managed to keeper Everton on the ropes for most of the contest yet failed to find that crucial knockout blow. And now they had suffered a devasting sucker-punch to deny them all three points.
The final whistle was celebrated by the home fans, having seen their side complete quite the rescue act that for large portions of the game seemed unlikely. Up next for them is a trip to West Ham United, and the supporters will be hoping the courage shown here tonight will put them team in good stead for their match at the Chigwell Construction Stadium.
As for Aston Villa, it was the end of their winning run, and the team were left to rue what might have been as they journeyed back down the M6. The fixtures do not get any easier for them, with back to back home matches against Manchester City and Chelsea to come next. Dropping points to Everton represented a missed opportunity for Villa to reinforce their position in the table before contending with their impending gauntlet of fixtures.
The Halfway Line Player of the Match: Courtney Brosnan
Sarri may have struck the equaliser, but that would have only been a mere consolation if it wasn’t for Brosnan, with a series of splendid saves repelling everything that Villa could throw at her. Her impressive individual display between the posts helped keep Everton in touch for long enough for Sarri to conduct her late rescue act.
