Everton Women 2-3 Aston Villa Women: Vangsgaard treble sinks Toffees despite late fightback
Everton Women suffered a 3-2 defeat to Aston Villa Women at Goodison Park, as a dominant first-half display from the visitors proved too much to overcome despite a spirited late rally from the hosts.
Aston Villa made the perfect start, going ahead inside four minutes when Noelle Maritz finished from the centre of the box after being played through by Amalie Vangsgaard. The visitors doubled their advantage on 32 minutes when Vangsgaard turned provider into scorer, curling a left-footed effort in from outside the box after a fast break involving Chasity Grant, sending Villa in 2-0 up at the break.
Villa extended their lead early in the second half, with Vangsgaard completing a quickfire double on 50 minutes, turning home from close range after Maritz returned the favour with the assist. At 3-0 down, Everton looked to be heading for a heavy defeat, but the home side found a route back into the game through substitute impact. Holly McNamara pulled a goal back on 79 minutes, firing in from the centre of the box, and deep into stoppage time Noémie Mouchon - another substitute - curled home a brilliant effort from a difficult angle, assisted by Yuka Momiki, to make it 3-2. It proved too little too late, however, as Villa held on to collect all three points.
Everton made four changes from the bench during the match, with Jutta Rantala, Clare Wheeler, Noémie Mouchon and Rion Ishikawa all introduced as the home side chased the game. Aston Villa also used their bench extensively, bringing on Maya Hijikata, Miri Taylor, Missy Kearns, Rofiat Imuran and Lily Murphy as the match progressed. There were no cautions for either side, with both teams finishing the match with a clean disciplinary record.
Everton actually shaded the possession stats, holding just over 54 per cent of the ball, and edged the shot count 14 to 11, with both sides managing five shots on target. Villa were the more clinical of the two going forward, however, and also won the tackle count, making 11 effective tackles from 22 attempts compared to Everton's four from 11.
The result leaves both sides level on nine points in the Women's Super League table, with Everton sitting seventh and Aston Villa eighth, as both clubs look to kick on in the weeks ahead. For Everton, the defeat continues a mixed run of results, their last five WSL games reading WLWLL, while Aston Villa's victory means their form over the same period stands at DLDWW.
EvertonFC.com provided live coverage of the match as it unfolded, tracking the early setback for the home side as Aston Villa moved in front inside the opening few minutes.
Written with the help of AI, using the match facts and the headlines from the publishers credited above. Each point links to the original report — tap the source name to read it in full.
