Aston Villa played host to Manchester City in the Barclay’s Women’s Super League today, as the Villans commemorated their 100th game in the WSL. But it won’t be one they look to remember, as mix ups at the back paired with a lack of clinical finishes saw them falter.
Aston Villa came into today’s fixture off the back of a 1-1 draw away to Everton last weekend. Currently sitting 8th in the WSL table, Villa were looking to further distance themselves from the relegation zone, as well as record their third straight win in B6 and continue their five-game unbeaten run.
As for Manchester City, they travelled to the Midlands following a double derby week which saw them play Manchester United both last weekend and midweek, in the WSL and Women’s League Cup respectively. Their WSL game on Sunday saw them drop three points, and slip to third in the WSL table, as they struggled to stop an in-form Ella Toone. But their midweek fixture saw them paint Manchester blue once again as they reigned victorious to advance to the semi-finals of the League Cup.
The Lineups
AVL: D’angelo, Mayling, Patten, Nobbs, Daly, Turner, Leon, Hanson, Baijings, Grant, Pacheco
MCI: Yamashita, Aleixandri, Miedema, Coombs, Fowler, Roord, Ouahabi, Casparij, Fujino, Hasegawa, Knaak
The Action
The first of many mix-ups for the home side saw a cheap giveaway by Sabrina D’Angelo at the back as the ball landed at the feet of Jill Roord who offloaded cooly to Vivianne Miedema just outside of the penalty box. Great hassle by Jordan Nobbs put Miedema under enough pressure that she skewed her shot left of the goal and the ball went out for a goal-kick.
A quick restart by D’Angelo saw the ball carried down the right flank by Villa as Chasity Grant got the better of both Leila Ouahabi and Rebecca Knaak. Despite Rachel Daly offering an option centrally, Grant chose to commit to getting the shot away as she fired the ball into the top left corner beyond the grasp of a blinded Ayaka Yamashita, giving the home side the lead.
After hassling in the middle of the park, Villa made a break goal-wards through Grant again, this time on the left. She offloaded to Kirsty Hanson who cut inside with teammates beckoning for a long cross, but instead she opted to go for a curling shot which sailed over the crossbar.
Moments later it was a charging Laia Aleixandri who brought the ball up field for City where a clever toe-poke by Miedema kept the ball alive for Park. Play continued with Fowler who cut across for her first attempt at goal, but with the wide angle never in her favour, the ball went skywards.
Danielle Turner’s decision to pass back to D’Angelo would gift the sky blues a second, as the tight angle was once again picked out by none other than Miedema. Nobbs did all she could to slide in, but it failed to deter the in-form forward who tucked the ball effortlessly into the bottom right corner to equalise for her side.
It was patience and vision yet again from City’s number 6 that saw her free herself on the edge of the box following another Fowler and Ouahabi overlap. Miedema’s choice to attack the ball before turning and unleashing a curling rocket from outside the area earned her side a second which she accompanied with a rare cheeky grin.
Not long after the the second half commenced the equaliser came. A diagonal ball from Nobbs in the centre circle switched play to Kirsty Hanson on the left of the 30-yard-box. A one-two with Maz Pacheco saw Hanson flash the ball across the face of goal where Aleixandri’s attempt to block the cross instead sent Yamashitas’s net rippling bringing the scores level.
It didn’t take long for City to respond and spare their captain her blushes. A cheeky volley by Miedema was brought down well by Roord who released Fowler on the right. The Australian cut back inside and sent the ball looping over D’Angelo into the left of the net to reestablish the visiting side’s lead.
With this momentum, City continued to push forward, a one-two between Park and Casparij saw the visitors extend their lead. Park selflessly squared the ball to a charging Casparij on the right before the English midfielder returned to the box positioning herself well to tap the ball home and double her side’s lead.
As the game drew to a close, a rapid attack by Hanson down the touchline – and beyond Ouahabi – saw Yamashita called into action. Her ability to palm the ball away whilst maintaining possesion for her side saw Roord able to break down the opposite flank. The quick turnover saw the Dutch midfielder go alone before the arrival of newly introduced Bunny Shaw offered distraction for the Villa defence. It was no surprise when Roord opted to go alone but the shot rebounded in her last action of the game.
As the ninety closed out, Villa regained possession and instead of shying away from the imposing Bunny Shaw, Lucy Parker opted to drive towards her and beyond, freeing fellow susbstitute Gabi Nunes who offloaded to Grant. Grant took no prisoners, charging through the wall of light blue shirts before her, prior to squaring to Daly. The Villa captain’s vision sent the ball wide to Nobbs who’s cross called Yamashita into action yet again but the Japanese goalkeeper palmed the ball away far enough for her side to reclaim possession and retain their lead.
With just seconds on the clock, Daly thought she’d narrowed the deficit after a cross into the box by Nobbs had been headered down and Daly had struck it home, but the offside flag halted celebrations before the whistle signalled the conclusion of the match.
Aston Villa return to B6 next weekend as they play host to the reigning WSL title holders Chelsea who are currently unbeaten in all competitions this season. Whilst Manchester City host Arsenal in a top-of-the-table clash as they battle it out to go second on the WSL league table and close the gap to the top.
