By Joseph Armstrong-Gardner
Aston Villa Women and Everton FC Women have played 20 Games since 2015. Among them, Aston Villa Women won 5 games (Total Goals 18, PPG 0.9), Everton FC Women won 12 (Total Goals 35, PPG 1.8), and drew 2 before their most recent encounter.
In a thrilling finish, the Everton women’s team secured a late point with Kelly Gago keeping her composure to score a thunderous half volley to help Everton walk away from Aston Villa with a draw.
Game Summary
The game opened with a neat goal in the 12th minute, calmly slotted into the bottom right corner by Kelly Gago after Martina Fernandez’s pass.
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Noelle Maritz chested down a looping cross to then hook the ball over to Georgia Mullett at the back post to equalise for Villa just before half-time.
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The home side kept their momentum flowing, with a long ball over the top from Lynn Wilms that was latched onto by Georgia Mullett to be squared across for Kirsty Hanson for a convenient tap-in to edge Aston Villa in the lead.
Hikaru Kitagawa scored an outstanding first-time finesse shot to equalise for the Toffees, curling into the bottom corner with high velocity after coming off the bench just 5 minutes prior.
When Ruby Mace inadvertently redirected Ebony Salmon’s cross into her own net, Villa looked braced for just their second win of the Women’s Super League.
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However, in the fourth minute of stoppage time, Kelly Gago bagged her second goal of the match to salvage a point for Everton with a lovely half volley cushioned into the net, leaving Villa devastated.
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Key Players
Georgia Mullet was the standout performer for Aston Villa, achieving 1 goal and 1 assist. She was consistently a threat to Everton up top, getting in behind their defense to create, as well as possessing the striker’s instinct to be in the right place at the right time.
Kelly Gago was crowned player of the match with her magnificent 2 goals throughout the game. She was always a problem for Villa’s defense, consistently creating space for goal-scoring chances. Gago took her 2 goals extremely well, showcasing her clinical finishing ability.
Key Quotes
“I am feeling good, I’m so happy for the team, my first two goals in a game, I’m so happy. Now, it’s better for the team and it’s better individually for me. So, I am feeling good. I’m happy. For the team, I never give up. From one minute to 90 minutes, I am strong. Everybody, the staff, the girls on the bench, the girls on the pitch, I’m feeling 100%. I hope do [even] better next week.”
– Kelly Gago
Post Match Analysis
Aston Villa
Villa showed lots of resiliency after a slow start with Kelly Gago’s opener in the 11th minute.
However, they need to improve upon their game management and defensive organisation in the final minutes of games if they want to come away with more victories this season.
Everton
The Toffees had positive impacts from substitutes with Hikaru Kitagawa coming on to equalise around the 70th minute mark, that showcases their squad depth and the coach’s ability to influence the game with new players from the bench.
Despite the attacking output being encouraging for Everton, the draw keeps them without a win in 6 matches. Similarly to Aston Villa, Everton need consitent quality defensive perfromences from their back line if they wish to achieve more wins this season.
What’s next for both teams?
Aston Villa travel to Manchester United next Saturday, 8 November (12:00 GMT) while Everton host Manchester City on Sunday (14:30 GMT).