It has taken me a while to think of what to write about this game as it was difficult to watch throughout and nothing like the team we have become accustomed to watching of late. Officiating and decisions in the earlier games possibly had an impact on how the players approached and acted during the game.
The game seemed to have a positive atmosphere about it once the lineup was announced. The line-up excited fans when it was announced that Jordan Nobbs was back in the starting line-up and Adriana Leon was also starting for her starting debut. The biggest shock was Maz Pacheco being available but starting once again on the bench. Villa had success against Liverpool last season and their manager Matt Beard had never beat Villa as a manager in his career.
Carla Ward’s team didn’t start the game very well with Liverpool having most of the possession and having a positive attacking threat down their left side with Taylor Hinds causing an issue for Sarah Mayling with the latter seeming to be struggling to keep up with her.
It wasn’t until the 21st minute when Liverpool scored their 1st goal through Marie Höbinger that Villa seemed to start stringing a few passes together and causing a threat of their own. Rachel Daly narrowly headed wide, Lucy Staniforth had a blocked shot that forced a save and Nobbs had an effort cleared off the line by Emma Koivisto.
With none of the chances taken and Villa going in at half-time with the better chances and on top during the game, fans were hoping they’d come out fighting in the second half the way they ended the first half.
However, Villa struggled to find the final ball with Liverpool clearing anything thrown at them. There seemed to be no way through the Liverpool defence, and with chances coming few and far between it seemed like it was going to be one of those nights in Birkenhead.
Daphne Van Domselaar made some high-quality saves throughout the game to keep the team in reach of at least grabbing a point until Liverpool broke once again on the counter-attack and scored a second through Natasha Flint 13 minutes from time.
In my opinion, there wasn’t much the keeper could have done to stop either goal as both were very good strikes and not many keepers would have been able to get a hand on them. It was a game plagued with sloppy, sluggish passes and pressing and defensive errors throughout for Villa.
This loss leaves Villa sitting in 11th place with only the league newcomers Bristol City sitting below them on goal difference.
I personally think the team was missing the attacking threat of Kirsty Hanson and the creativity that Kenza Dali offers. With some very difficult fixtures coming up including Arsenal at the Emirates and Chelsea at home, I’m struggling to see where the next points are coming from, but hoping for a better performance in the next match with the players looking more rested and not exhausted like they seemed in this game from the start.
It’s not all doom and gloom though and we need to look to take the positives from this game. Nobbs and Leon seemed to link up well on the right-hand side with Pacheco and Salmon doing similar on the opposite flank. Daly was being her normal self getting into good positions although she had to drop deep to pick up the ball at times.
Sometimes you have to just face the fact we were second best during the game and it just wasn’t our day.