Aston Villa Women were comprehensively beaten 4-1 by Manchester City at Villa Park on Sunday night. The defeat leaves them 12th in the standings with a solitary point from their first two matches of the campaign, having now conceded five goals in just 180 minutes of football this season.
City took control early, with Jade Rose opening the scoring after 14 minutes. Mary Fowler doubled the lead before the half-hour mark. Villa found a brief response just before the break when Amalie Vangsgaard scored, assisted by Chasity Grant. Any hope of a comeback was extinguished in the second half as Khadija Shaw and Lauren Hemp each added a goal to complete the rout.
Manchester City boss Andrée Jeglertz said his team executed their plan perfectly. "City marched on in professional fashion at Villa Park," he told reporters after the match.
Villa manager Natalia Arroyo made a tactical change during the game, introducing Océane Deslandes as a substitute. "Océane Deslandes was introduced soon after by Villa boss Natalia Arroyo," she said, confirming the switch.
The result extends a difficult start for Arroyo's side. Following an opening-day draw with Chelsea, they now have a record of zero wins, one draw and one loss. This recent form, shows they have scored only two goals while conceding five, giving them a minus-three goal difference. With just that single point on the board, the pressure is on to improve ahead of their upcoming fixtures.
Goalkeeper Akane Okuma, a summer signing from INAC Kobe, had a busy night in goal for Villa. The defensive unit, which included Noelle Maritz and Lucia Kendall, was repeatedly exposed by City's potent attack. Their next match offers a key chance to stop the slide and get their season on track.
First reported at africa.espn.com
