Here’s Louise Taylor’s report from Villa Park
Here’s the goals. Gemma Davies and her team will not wish to be reminded of them.
...and again! ⚽️⚽️@StanwayGeorgia doubles her & @ManCityWomen's tally pic.twitter.com/r3W5uuqfqL
— Barclays FA Women's Super League (@BarclaysFAWSL) September 5, 2020
...and again! ⚽️⚽️@StanwayGeorgia doubles her & @ManCityWomen's tally pic.twitter.com/r3W5uuqfqL
— Barclays FA Women's Super League (@BarclaysFAWSL) September 5, 2020
Georgia Stanway, the match-winner, speaks
It’s just good to get out there. It’s not our best performance. but we’ll take the win. It was nerves and getting back into it, we haven’t played for such a long time; it’s getting back into a rhythm. Every manager is different in how they get their points across. We have brought in new players and it’s exciting. Sam [Mewis] brings her experience, and she will help us massively. I should have had a hundred. Next week I will put my shooting boots on.
Full-time: Aston Villa 0-2 Manchester City
City get off to a winning start and showed off their deep well of talent but were still given the odd scare by Villa. It all came down to those two defensive disasters that handed Georgia Stanway her two goals. Sian Rodgers had a great second half in Villa’s goal while Sam Mewis looked to be settling in quick into life in the WSL.
90+ 3 min: Three minutes have been added on, and are being played out in a rather fatigued fashion. Mewis, who almost started the match with a goal, almost finishes it with one but Rodgers makes another decent save. And that will be that.
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90 min: Georgia Stanway is awarded player of the match, as well she might. Villa make a final change. Hutton and Hanssen and for Arthur and the impressive Silva.
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89 min: City seem to be idling out time. Villa have proved to be tough opponents, despite the gifts they handed over in the first half.
87 min: Ellie Roebuck claims the ball when Larsen was lurking with intent. Karen Bardsley, another big name, has some work to do to get back into City’s gloves.
86 min: City have so many big names now, and the likes of Scott and White are now no longer definite names on the team sheet. Gareth Taylor’s job is to fit all those names in.
84 min: Some hurried defending from City is followed by a Stanway counter but she can’t find Ellen White, whose movement has given Villa plenty to think about.
Jill Scott, now a player coach, comes on to replace Caroline Weir.
83 min: Stanway’s ball was poor when City had plenty of attackers springing forward. Unusually so from the decisive player in the game so far.
81 min: Can Villa force anything? They seem a tad tired. There’s been plenty of chasing required from them.
79 min: White has the ball in the net this time after a pass from Mewis. A great finish, but an offside given again. Was it? At this point, who knows?
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78 min: Ellen White rattles the post. Most of the players had stopped for an offside. The ball had been another backpass so probably wasn’t. Some odd reffing in this match.
76 min: The game is now somewhat bitty. Villa had their chances but are now open to those wildcat City attacks.
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74 min: Free-kick chance for Villa as they make a chance. Off goes Follis, on comes Hayles, back at the club after some time at Birmingham City.
72 min: Carving run from Caroline Weir, then a shot over the bar. Then Mewis wins a corner. Both players making runs from deep that are opening up great holes in Villa’s attack.
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70 min: Lovely skill by Larsen, who has shown off some fine forward skills before Arthur whips in a ball that Larsen just fails to meet on the return.
68 min: Two Villa changes: Ewes and N’Dow off, Ale and Syme on.
67 min: City sub: Ellen White comes on for Beckie. That pushes out Stanway to the wing from where, after linking with White, she almost lands her hat-trick. Rodgers, though, was excellent again.
66 min: Gemma Bonner booked for a cynical foul on an escaping Silva? No, that was lenient.
65 min: Beckie almost gets Weir in and Villa clear hurriedly. City beginning to create a host of chances. They are, though, vulnerable to the counterattack.
63 min: Stanway finds space in the box, makes room for herself and Rodgers again makes a good save.
61 min: For her part, City’s Roebuck makes an equally good save from Laursen at the other end. She galloped out, made herself big and stopped what would have been a goal to set up a testing last half hour.
60 min: That said, Mewis releases Beckie, whose shot is well saved from Villa goalkeeper Rodgers who has marked herself as a fine shotstopper after those early ricks.
59 min: Mewis’s pass eventually finds Kelly on the edge of the box before the American gets a shot in. But both Mewis and Kelly have been quieter.
57 min: Mewis yet to make much of an impression this half where the first saw her intelligent runs causing all manner of confusion for Villa.
55 min: Steph Houghton’s pass to Beckie wafts out of play, which is out of character. City not so much fluent as effective. They have not shown off the passing football they are known to play.
53 min: Impressive awareness from Ellie Roebuck in City’s goal, just when Larsen looked to have a free run.
52 min: Ewers, the Villa captain, is down after a foul by Georgia Stanway, who has chased the ball all day. Ewers gets up and will be fine to continue.
50 min: City’s Weir has a shot saved after a long run from deep.
49 min: Villa showing the signs that City rattled in the first half before they were undone by their own mistakes. They’ve been much improved, and show off some decent defensive organisation when Kelly, the first-half threat, cuts in and is blocked.
47 min: So close for Villa. Silva steers a shot wide after Follis’s deep run into City’s defence. City had been torn asunder. That has to register as a bad miss, sadly.
46 min: Early Villa attack sees Larsen’s attempt to get a shot on goal blocked. Silva couldn’t get a shot in either. City then mount an attack deep into Villa territory.
And we’re back. Expect to see no backpasses this half after a Gemma Davies half-time rocket. The Villa players take to the field while clapping their hands which suggests that exhortations have been heard and followed. City’s players huddle up and then ready themselves for the next 45.
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Half-time: Aston Villa 0-2 Manchester City
Two errors between defenders and the Villa goalkeeper and Georgia Stanway helped herself to two goals. Beyond that, Villa have looked decent, City perhaps a little rusty with new players to bed in. But they still look a significant step up for the promoted club.
44 min: Villa force a corner. What can they find before the break? Larsen’s header was knocked off the line by Stokes. Silva goes down. Contact made? The referee is having none of that. Kelly got the ball first, before Silva went down. The confirmation is that there is no VAR but they have goalline technology - that which failed in the Sheffield United game.
42 min: Stanway chases a first-half hat-trick. She rounded the Villa goalkeeper but lost her balance just at the point the goal was gaping for her.
41 min: Lovely turn from Stanway, and she sends Beckie away. The ball comes back from Mewis, surging forward from midfield but the American fails to keep the ball down.
40 min: Controlled passing from City but good pressing from Chloe Arthur for Villa. Silva fails to escape down the flank.
38 min: City attempt to regain calm after that slight wobble. Villa pushed on, and did look to have had the ball in the net. That was a poor decision, and a bad one for the contest. Villa also seemed to have calmed down in defence.
36 min: Villa suddenly much improved here. City resting on their laurels. But Kelly goes away on the break once more. This time, the ball is cleared before Stanway can cause any further problems.
34 min: A Stokes foul gives Villa chance to launch a free-kick at City. Silva, on their left, has been the liveliest attacker, alongside Petzelberger, but she doesn’t get the ball. Larsen eventually gets chance to shoot but it’s something of a pea-roller.
33 min: Villa have the ball in the net through Petzleberger. Again, the offside call looked somewhat awry.
31 min: Chloe Kelly has been excellent, blazing down the left wing every time it comes to her and Villa have few answers to her.
29 min: Near-chaos again when Rogers comes to clear the ball and ends up walloping it off her own defender.
28 min: Villa attempt some calm possession. It ends up spilling to City and Kelly takes three opponents with her. City’s buildup is patient before Mewis, from the right, crosses and Rogers claims the ball.
26 min: Adam Kline-Schoder has been in touch: “Interesting use of Sam Mewis to play quick, one-touch passes out of midfield to change the angle of the attack. I assumed that she’d be used more as an anchor due to her size, but instead seems to be adding a new dimension to the “Houghton/Bonner long ball out wide” or “Scott/Walsh running at the defence” attack. Once Lavelle is integrated I reckon she’ll be an upgrade on a still talented but now aging Jill Scott. Intelligent (albeit not cheap) recruiting from City. All that said...somewhat ironic that the opening goal came from Stanway pickpocketing a Villan. Thanks for the doing the MBM! Stay safe out there.”
24 min: The difference between the teams is, it has to be said, the passing back to the goalkeeper. City are cool as cucumbers while Villa have been a hot mess whenever they have been pressed by City.
22 min: That’s a disaster for Villa and their goalkeeper but a red-letter day for Stanway, whose awareness is what completed Villa’s misery.
Goal! Villa 0-2 City (Stanway, 21)
A carbon copy of the first! A dreadful backpass puts Rogers in trouble and Stanway has all the time in the world to slot home.
19 min: Some exceptionally calm passing across the box from City, the type Pep Guardiola would approve of. That transitions into a fast attack as Stanway releases Beckie, whose shot is well saved. City could be three or four up in truth.
17 min: Gemma Bonner does well to come across to stop a Villa attack presenting danger. City’s defenders have been relaxed so far, assured.
15 min: Gemma Davies is making copious notes on the sidelines. Plenty to go on for the Villa coach.
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14 min: City spending much of their time in Villa’s territory. This is a severe test of the promoted club.
12 min: Kelly escapes to the byline, and a Villa corner is conceded. Kelly has had the freedom of Aston so far. Villa, with some doggedness, hold City at bar belatedly waking up to the danger City possess? Let’s see.
10 min: Villa have a free-kick after a foul by Chloe Kelly. Follis chips in. Larsen’s shot is weak and the ball makes its way back to Roebuck. Villa lively enough in attack and hard-working in midfield. Defensively? Not so much.
8 min: Villa fell apart there, just as they have whenever City have attacked. Stanway is causing all sorts of trouble with her movement and was presented with a gift for that goal.
Goal! Villa 0-1 City (Stanway, 6)
A nightmare start as a backpass finds its way to Stanway who is far braver than Sian Rogers and pokes home into an empty net. That was calamitous.
5 min: City have the ball in the net. Bonner’s ball to Chloe Kelly and Mewis slots home. It’s ruled offside though didn’t look it. The word was that VAR would be in session ahead of this game.
4 min: Stanway again goes close. Villa wobbly at the back to say the least.
3 min: Villa try and keep calm after that worrying start. Silva launches the ball into the area but it’s headed away. Good pressing by debutant Ramona Petzelberger.
1 min: City go so close! Georgia Stanway’s shot is blocked and Sam Mewis has a sniff of a goal in the opening seconds of her debut. Villa clear with goalkeeper Sian Rogers having something of a flap.
Away we go...
The teams take to the field, though there is no crowd to greet them bar the aforementioned dignitaries. City have made two changes including Jill Scott dropping to the bench after being sent off at Wembley last week. There is a minute’s applause for those lost to Covid-19 and then all take a knee for Black Lives Matter once the whistle sounds. The 196-day wait for the WSL is over.
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This is the first time Villa Park has hosted a WSL match. Eni Aluko, the club’s director of football, is in the stands, as is outgoing England coach Phil Neville.
Stat courtesy of the Aston Villa website: “At the mere age of 28, Gemma Davies will become the youngest manager in Women’s Super League history on Saturday.”
She spoke ahead of this game:
There’s a lot of excitement around the camp. We’re looking forward to the fixture. We’ve got to a point now where we’re ready for gameday. It’s been seven weeks. The group are ready. Manchester City are a wonderful football team, we are looking forward to the challenge. But I think it’s important we play the game, as cliché as it is, and not the occasion that surrounds it.
Rose Lavelle is not in the City line-up as she in currently in a quarantine after travelling over from the US of A. Sam Mewis, all 6’ 2” of her, takes her place. The talk in pre-match is of the return to City of Lucy Bronze but that will have to wait for another day.
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City have some work to after losing to Chelsea in the Community Shield, a defeat that could have been far worse had Sam Kerr taken her shooting boots to Wembley.
Gareth Taylor had this to say to the club’s website.
It’s another good game. We’re really looking forward to it. We’ve got plenty of things to work on (after last weekend’s defeat to Chelsea) but we have to dust ourselves off and go again. We’ll remain level, we’ll keep working day in day out and continue looking forward to our objectives this season.
And Villa’s Maria Ewers had this to say:
Playing City in the first game of the season will be a tough challenge but I think we’re ready for that. We want that kind of challenge now and that competition. In this league, every week you have to be at that level now, you have to compete against that level, I think it’s great for us to get up there as quickly as possible. And give our best and see what we can get out of this game.
And this from Chelsea’s Guro Reiten.
Plenty of preview content to get your teeth into ahead of the big kick-off, starting with this piece from Louise Taylor.
Here are the teams
Here's how we line-up for our @barclaysFAWSL season opener...#AVFC pic.twitter.com/ZdFIpKl8Fl
— Aston Villa Women (@AVWFCOfficial) September 5, 2020
The line-up to kick-off our 2020/21 #BarclaysFAWSL campaign! 🙌
— Man City Women (@ManCityWomen) September 5, 2020
CITY XI | Roebuck, Morgan, Houghton (C), Bonner, Stokes, Walsh, Mewis, Weir, Beckie, Kelly, Stanway
SUBS | Bardsley, Taieb, Coombs, Scott, Park, White
⚽️ @haysworldwide
🔷 #ManCity | https://t.co/HkTzfLv0HJ pic.twitter.com/nt2OENOVJ0
Preamble
It’s been a long, long wait for the WSL but it’s back back back, and Manchester City have used the time and circumstances to strengthen. When the world came to its end in March, they were actually top of the WSL table, only to on the dreaded lose out on points-per-game. They have a newish boss in charge, Gareth Taylor, who City fans may recall as an underwhelming signing in the Joe Royle era but who has developed into a coach of a decent reputation. They also have two World Cup winners in Sam Mewis and Rose Lavelle, and Chloe Kelly from Everton. Villa meanwhile, are freshly promoted, having dominated the Championship. They could be something of a surprise package.
Kick-off: 2.30pm. Join me.
First up...@AVWFCOfficial 🆚 @ManCityWomen 🤜🤛
— Barclays FA Women's Super League (@BarclaysFAWSL) September 5, 2020
Catch the #BarclaysFAWSL 20/21 season opener LIVE on @btsport 📺 pic.twitter.com/bydwmtIyS7
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