Aston Villa remain bottom of the table after defeat to Everton

Aston Villa have remained rooted to the bottom of the Barclays FA Women’s Super League table following their 3-1 defeat at Everton this afternoon.

With West Ham United’s shock victory over Reading yesterday, it had become even more crucial that Villa were able to take points from their game at Walton Hall Park but it wasn’t to be.

The away side were pressing well in the opening half of the match but were unable to manifest any of that pressure into a clear opportunity on goal.

Villa were punished nine minutes before the break when mis-control by Jodie Hutton at the back meant Izzy Christiansen could dink a ball into the six-yard box for Lucy Graham to head home from close range.

The Blue Girls then had the ball in the net once again moments later. A deep free-kick from Christiansen was met by Rikke Sevecke who headed across goal and the ball was tapped in at the back post by Hayley Raso, however, the Australian international was flagged offside and the goal was disallowed.

Everton were gifted a golden opportunity to double their lead soon after the break. A cross in from the left was handled by Olivia McLoughlin whose arms were inexplicably high and the referee pointed to the spot. Graham stepped up and looked to slot the ball into the bottom right-hand corner but was denied by Lisa Weiss.

The Blue Girls were then awarded another penalty when Hutton brought down Sevecke in the area. This time it was Christiansen who stepped up and she made no mistake from the spot to put her side two goals to the good.

The home side put the game to bed with just over 10 minutes to go. A low cross from Claire Emslie looked to find Jill Scott in the area but Anita Asante tackled well. Unfortunately for the Villa defender, the ball rebounded off Simone Magill and found the back of the net.

Villa were able to net a consolation deep into stoppage time. A deep free-kick was floated in by Asmita Ale and Chloe Arthur rose highest with a looping header which beat Sandy MacIver.

The result means that The Villains remain in the relegation zone but they do still have two games in hand on Bristol City above. That will give boss Marcus Bignot hope that his team can close the gap before the season ends. With matches against West Ham United, Bristol City, and Birmingham City remaining, there are still plenty of opportunities to make up ground on those sides above them.

Ryan Lee Gregory

I am Ryan Lee Gregory a writer and reporter for FA Women’s Super League Full-Time. I am also a documentary filmmaker.

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