View: Three things learned from Aston Villa Women draw v Brighton
Aston Villa Women stumbled to a 1-1 draw against second-to-bottom Brighton in the WSL on Saturday 4 February but stretched their unbeaten run in the league to three games in the process.
The Villans took a first-half lead when Sarah Mayling’s cross was diverted into the Brighton net by Kayleigh Green before Villa surrendered a cheap equaliser to Julia Olme after 70 minutes.
The draw means Ward’s side remains sixth in the WSL – two points off Everton in fifth – before the two sides meet in a return match on the south coast.
Here are three things we learned from the score draw against the WSL strugglers.
Officiating under scrutiny
If regular Premier League fans think that officiating in the top-flight is not up to standard, then they should take a look at the WSL to see how much worse it could be.
Throughout the course of the match, the Seagulls chipped in and disturbed Villa’s attacking flow with niggling fouls that weren’t penalised. Both Rebekah Stott and Guro Bergsvand were a constant thorn in Villa’s side in defence as they broke up Villa’s play to surprising effect.
As the match drew to its conclusion and Villa struggled to break down Brighton’s compact backline, the home side were denied a blatant late penalty by referee Louise Saunders.
After the match, Ward slammed the standard of officiating in the WSL and stated that it was one of the major factors holding women’s football back.
Stop Daly, stop Villa
A major cause for concern this season has been Villa’s lack of alternative scoring options to Rachel Daly, and this continued to show itself in the clash against Brighton. For large portions of the game, the Seagulls doubled up on the WSl’s top goalscorer and ensured the service coming into her was limited.
With Kirsty Hanson and Alisha Lehmann both playing as wide wingers, Kenza Dali needs to make sure she pushes higher up the pitch to bridge the gap between the midfield and Daly.
Without Dali occupying these spaces behind the England international, Villa, at times, look a little one-dimensional.
Brighton are likely to impose a similar tactic in the return fixture this Sunday (12 February), so Ward must counter this with a slightly tweaked tactical framework.
Bullish Ward
The disappointment etched on Ward’s face in her post-match interview was a sign of the standards she is driving in the West Midlands this season.
If this had been last year, the Villa manager might well have reflected that this was one point gained instead of two lost, but following the influx of money and new signings, her expectations have clearly been driven sky high.
“Forget the goal, I think over the course of 90 minutes, we haven’t performed in the way we have all season,” she told Villa TV post-match. “That’s disappointing, I’ll analyse it, the girls will analyse it, and we’ll come back stronger.”
It would have been interesting to be a fly on the wall in Ward’s post-match team talk, as her frustrations were clear for all to see. Villa will certainly be up for the fight against the Seagulls this weekend, and it wouldn’t come as surprise to see them come out of the blocks firing on all cylinders.
In other Aston Villa news, Carla Ward must find a contingency plan in case Rachel Daly gets injured for her women’s side this season.