As the likes of Arsenal, Chelsea and both Manchester clubs came away with the three points they had all desperately desired this weekend. Attention was drawn away from an exhilarating encounter between Aston Villa and Everton.
Both teams have surprised many this season with their performances and squad additions. The pair played out a tough fought encounter at Bescot Stadium, with only one goal to separate the two as the Toffees returned to Merseyside victorious.
The Villains dominated from the get-go with the usual suspects Rachel Daly and Alisha Lehmann providing the creative spark early on. Daly came close to adding to the 49 ShePlays fantasy points she has earned so far but Sarah Mayling’s cross just evaded Daly in the box. The best of Villa’s early chances fell to Laura Blindkilde, who found herself on the end of Kirsty Hanson’s driven cross but was unable to guide it home.
Everton responded with Katrine Veje’s shot from distance which looked troubling but was comfortably gathered by Anna Leat. At the other end, Daly managed to round keeper Courtney Brosnan but could not send the ball goal bound in the end, summative of Villa’s first half chances.
Following the interval, Everton continued to absorb pressure until the 57th minute when Katja Snoeijs picked up the ball in midfield and drove forward, passing to Jess Park who after slaloming past onrushing Villa defenders played in Gabrielle George. Her looped cross to the back post found Lucy Graham who thundered the ball in and capped off a textbook counterattack goal.
As Villa pushed for an equaliser, Everton held strong and denied the Villains any clear cut opportunities in the end. The win sees the Toffees leapfrog their opponents and go 4th in the table. Both teams return to action next week with fixtures of great difficulty as Villa travel to the capital to face reigning champions Chelsea, whilst Everton host second placed Manchester United.