Aston Villa Women: Three players who shined in 2-1 win v Tottenham
Aston Villa enjoyed a winning return to WSL action after the mid-season break as Carla Ward’s side came from behind to beat Tottenham in a hard-fought win on Saturday 14 January.
Despite Villa dominating early proceedings, they fell behind to a Bethany England goal after 28 minutes before Kenza Dali let fly from the edge of the area to level proceedings.
Rachel Daly continued her golden form as she buried Kirsty Hanson’s low cross beyond Spurs keeper Tinja-Riikka Korpela just before the break to take the outright lead in the WSL Golden Boot race.
Villa held on for the crucial three points and moved level with Everton in fifth place in the WSL table, with a tricky fixture against Manchester City on the horizon.
Here Villa News takes a look at three players who shined in the victory on Saturday 14 January.
Sarah Mayling
Just days after signing a new long-term contract in the West Midlands, Mayling showed her worth with a dominant display at right-back.
The 25-year-old was a thorn in Spurs’ side all afternoon long with her piercing runs from full-back, and she carved open a number of opportunities with some dangerous balls into the box in the second half.
As well as showing brilliant attacking intent, Mayling took care in her defensive duties and managed to pinch the ball back on numerous occasions with well-timed tackles or interceptions.
The right-back has started every game for Ward so far this season, and she showed her importance by helping Villa see out the win despite some late pressure from Spurs.
As Ward quite plainly said upon signing her contract: “She can go on to be anything she wants to be.” [AVFC]
Kenza Dali
Dali’s selfie celebration with Rachel Daly was once again on show for fans to witness, as the 31-year-old found the back of the net for the fourth time this season.
Her goal was beautifully taken. After receiving the ball from Kirsty Hanson, Dali drove into a vacant space on the edge of the Spurs box before unleashing a curling strike into the bottom left corner of the net.
This was the French international’s tenth goal involvement this term, as she underpinned her importance to Villa with yet another assured performance.
All game long Dali floated in the ‘Mesut Ozil position’ in between the Spurs midfield and back four and was never afraid of trying to slip in Rachel Daly with intricate little passes. The former Everton midfielder brings creativity to Villa’s game and is now one of the first names on the team sheet.
Jordan Nobbs
Nobbs showed exactly what she could bring to Aston Villa during her brilliant debut in claret and blue.
The 30-year-old showed her attacking intentions early on when unleashing a strike from 20 yards after just a few minutes, and she carried on in the same vein throughout the afternoon.
She was a crucial presence in the Villa midfield and seemed to go about her business with a calm and experience that Ward’s side have lacked so far this season.
The ex-Arsenal legend ticked play over with her well-rounded passing game and was happy to take the ball off the defence when required to. Her pedigree and class was on show for all to see, and Villa fans will be excited at the prospect of Nobbs becoming a mainstay in the midfield over the coming seasons.
In other Aston Villa news, this one first-team player could quickly become a fan-favourite after his brilliant performance against Leeds in the Premier League.