Chelsea Women vs Aston Villa Women was not a match for the faint-hearted on a cold and rainy Wednesday evening at Kingsmeadow.
After the original Saturday fixture was changed to midweek following Chelsea’s securing their place in the semi-finals of the UEFA Women’s Champion’s League; it was no surprise to see a completely different starting lineup from their previous game. Key Blues players like Lauren James were noticeably missing (presumably resting for the weekend against Barcelona).
Whereas illness and injury continued to plague the visitors, forcing a game plan and formation change during the warmup. Surprisingly, vital Villa forward Adriana Leon was named in the squad as a substitute, but Carla Ward made it very clear she wasn’t going to call upon her unless absolutely necessary, as it was essential she got some rest after a tough international window.
Rachel Daly continued in her attacking midfield role with Simone Magill (her 100th WSL appearance) and Ebony Salmon leading the line this evening. For the first few minutes, Villa showed some really promising link up play and things were looking good… until the 4th minute.
Once again, playing out from the back cost Villa as a sloppy pass from captain Rachel Corsie was intercepted and Chelsea were back on the attack. Anna Leat’s keeper instincts kicked in, as she was Villa’s only defensive option as the defenders raced back, unfortunately, she came too far out and handled the ball outside of her box; which meant a straight red card.
Immediately, the visitors game plan changed once more as Ebony Salmon had to be withdrawn for 17 year old Sophia Poor to make her first WSL appearance. Within minutes, she was put to the test from a Chelsea free kick and got off to a good start as it was deflected away. Poor’s performance throughout was fantastic and sprinkled with some very brave goalkeeping moments. Not what you’d picture for a debut performance, but one all Villa fans and the neutrals could be proud of.
Although Simone Magill was left very isolated upfront as the midfield dropped further back (ideally, with 11 players it would have been great to see Daly and Dali push higher to support) there were moments of opportunity on the counter all starting through Miri Taylor’s great use of physicality to win back the ball (brilliant to see her get her first start for the team). A moment that ideally Villa should have capitalised on however as the opportunities were few and far between. Jordan Nobbs received the ball on the edge of the box ( and was given far too much time on the ball) but heartbreakingly, her shot took a deflection and went over the crossbar. A promising sign that the visitors, at this point, were not going to sit back and let Chelsea dominate as they did in the 0-6 defeat earlier in the season.
Just before the 20 minute mark, young Blues superstar Aggie Beever-Jones found the back of the net to break the deadlock and although Villa were spending the majority of the game in their own half, they certainly weren’t making it easy for the home side. In a couple of moments, Villa looked like they were building towards something promising, but fell foul of holding onto the ball and the lack of quick, fluent passing was only making it easy for Chelsea to start their own counter.
As the first half drew to a close, Villa overall weren’t playing too badly but struggled to hold onto the ball and were losing it in incredibly dangerous positions which you can’t afford to do against a side like Chelsea. With a few minutes to go, another young, promising talent Maika Hamano doubled the home side’s lead after a flick on from Catarina Macario. Sophia Poor did well to change direction quickly but the speed it came at her hands, she just couldn’t stop it.
As the second half began, Villa looked ready for the fight but so did Chelsea, who also picked up the pace eager for more goals, knowing their title race could come down to goal difference on the final day. Similar to the Aston Villa vs Leicester City game, the referee was making some questionable decisions and preferred to play the advantage, when play really should have been stopped.
Defensively, Villa were really missing Danielle Turner, whose clearances are legendary in matches like this, but overall skipper Rachel Corsie and Anna Patten did do a good job in her absence. However, it wasn’t enough as Villa conceded a free kick in the 64th minute and Kadeisha Buchanan rose the highest as her header guided the ball into the back of the net. Chelsea had had so many free kicks, one was eventually bound to go in. (Image Credit: The Guardian)
In an unfortunate turn of events, Sophia Poor was down on the ground showing some discomfort in her calf but luckily for the visitors she was determined to stay on, especially as Villa didn’t have any more keepers on their bench. Returning from injury, it was a breath of fresh air to see Kirsty Hanson replace Kenza Dali in the 69th minute and in a renewed effort from the visitors, there was almost another moment of hope. Chelsea uncharacteristically switched off, and Hanson was allowed to show her quality and have the run of the left channel, it was such a shame no one was in the box waiting for her cross.
The issue of substitutes has always been something Villa have struggled with, and it wasn’t until late in the game Carla Ward swapped Sarah Mayling and Simone Magill for Alisha Lehmann and Villa’s own youngster, Georgia Mullett. When compared to the quality of the subs Chelsea made (Erin Cuthbert, Mayra Ramirez and Johanna Rytting-Kaneryd for Macario, Carter and Beever-Jones) it begs the question, when will the Villa higher-ups show their belief in the women’s game, so the claret and blue side can also compete when it comes to much needed squad depth and quality?
In the 80th minute, Poor again made a fantastic save, making chants of “where’s your keeper gone?” from the Chelsea fans seem quite redundant. Although a few minutes later, worried discussions between Ward and Corsie started again as Poor was down again, this time looking like she was suffering from cramp in her other leg.
(Image Credit: Unknown)
As the final whistle blew, the majority of Villa fans came away feeling proud of their team and accepted that a 3-0 defeat actually marked progress for the club. Considering in the last outing (at home) Chelsea won 0-6 and that was against 11 players! Aston Villa managed to only concede 3 goals this evening with only 10 players including our third choice, debutant goalkeeper for nearly the whole match.
Moving forward, it would be great to see consistent good positioning from the players and wanting more players like Miri Taylor and Noelle Maritz (and Lucy Parker when she’s fit) who use their physicality and aren’t afraid to put in a tackle, showing their strength on the ball, rather than just shepherding players out. In a game where some of our best possession football just happened to be in our own half, it’s a defeat we can take gracefully and actually see the silver lining.
Aston Villa Women next play West Ham United at Villa Park, still looking to play for as many points as possible to secure 7th place with the end of the season now in sight.
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