Aston Villa fell to defeat in the Barclays Women’s Super League on Sunday afternoon, losing 4-1 to Manchester United at Villa Park.
A brave first-half performance from the Villans saw the league’s second-highest goalscorer Kirsty Hanson cancel out Julia Zigiotti Olme’s opener direct from a corner, to ensure the score was tied at 1-1 at the halfway stage.
But second half strikes from Elisabeth Terland, Jess Park and Hanna Lundkvist, after Villa had again created openings to take the lead, took the game away from Natalia Arroyo’s team to condemn them to defeat.
Arroyo made two changes to her starting XI which bowed out of the FA Cup at the hands of European champions Arsenal last weekend, with Georgia Mullett and Océane Deslandes coming back in in place of Rachel Maltby and Missy Bo Kearns, and Ellie Roebuck keeping her place in goal as Anna Patten made her 100th WSL appearance.
And, during a tightly contested opening period, it was Hanson who was the first to go close, driving into the United half and sending a whistling effort narrowly wide of the far post from distance.
But the visitors responded with chances of their own, wrestling the initiative as the game ticked towards the half-hour mark. First, Ellen Wangerheim fired over at the second time of asking from inside the area after initially being denied by good defending from Deslandes.
Marc Skinner’s side came closer still when Melvine Malard turned and shot from the edge of the area, but Roebuck, still sporting facial scars after an impressive performance against the Gunners last weekend, tipped it around the post.
Maya Hijikata
The Villa stopper could do nothing, however, to prevent United from taking the lead two minutes later from the resulting succession of corners. Zigiotti sent in a deep delivery, which evaded everyone in the centre and found its way straight into the back of the net off the far post.
The hosts responded well, however, and needed just two minutes to hit back, Noelle Maritz’s enterprising run resulting in a pass to Hanson, who cut inside and fired through the legs of Jayde Riviere to wrongfoot goalkeeper Phallon Tullis-Joyce at her near post, the Scotland international restoring parity with her seventh goal of the campaign.
The game then sprung into life for the remainder of the half, with both sides chasing a second goal to take a lead into the break. United’s corners were troubling Villa, but Roebuck was this time alert to palm away another threatening Zigiotti delivery.
And it was Arroyo’s side who ended the first period the stronger. Hanson was a constant thorn in the side of the away team as she looked to carve out openings for the hosts, with both Deslandes and Maya Hijikata forcing strong stops out of Tullis-Joyce who kept the score level heading into half-time.
Kirsty Hanson
The beginning of the second period kept the same, competitive edge that much of the first period had followed, with both sides exchanging turns to attack. Seven minutes after the restart, an unmarked Lea Schüller prodded an effort wide at the back post.
Villa again responded, and Mullett might have done better when turning an effort over from inside the area on the hour, but from then on, it was largely one-way traffic, as the Red Devils found another gear.
Having been on the field just 10 minutes, Terland but the away side back ahead 19 minutes from time, sweeping a first-time finish into the far corner through the grasp of Roebuck after a neat knock-down from Malard.
January signing Jenna Nighswonger was introduced for her Villa debut, and her impact almost yielded another immediate response, as fellow substitute Ebony Salmon forced a strong stop from Tullis-Joyce before Hanson turned another effort over.
Ebony Salmon
But from then on, it was the visitors who had the guile and clinical edge to see the game out, taking advantage of the space in Villa’s defence as Arroyo’s charges desperately sought a way back into the game.
Park got her name on the scoresheet to add daylight between the two sides 15 minutes from time, cutting inside, weaving into the box and firing beyond Roebuck to put United in control.
And four minutes later, the scoring was complete. Lundkvist was found on the overlap and tucked in at the back post, as Skinner’s side proved too hot to handle in the second period.
Defeat leaves the Villans seventh in the WSL table, ahead of next Sunday’s trip to Everton (ko 11.55am).
A Villa Women: Roebuck, Parker, Patten, Deslandes (Nighswonger 72'), Wilms, Staniforth, Taylor (Jean-François 63'), Maritz, Hijikata (Round 86'), Mullett (Salmon 63'), Hanson
Subs: D'Angelo, Jean-François, Salmon, Sallaway, Nighswonger, Maltby, Round, Lea
Man Utd: Tullis-Joyce, Riviere (Lundkvist 61'), Le Tissier, Janssen, Sandberg (Turner 86'), Miyazawa, Zigiotti Olme, Wangerheim (Naalsund 66'), Park, Malard (Drury 86'), Schüller (Terland 61')
Subs: Rendell, Lundkvist, Terland, Awujo, Naalsund, Turner, Griffiths, Middleton-Patel, Drury