, Ward's side showed their greatest strength was a disciplined and well organised defence. An unassailable shape left Skinner's ranks bereft of ideas beyond what Geyse could conjure herself. But where Villa proved difficult to break down, more could be asked of their attacking edge in the first half. Lucy Staniforth's threaded ball into the path of Lehmann was sc){kind=link}
Manchester United travelled to Villa Park to face Aston Villa Women in the opening match of the Women’s Super League season, and while it took a while to warm up, there was no shortage of late drama
Rachel Williams’ last-gasp header gave Manchester United Women a 2-1 victory over 10-woman Aston Villa Women in the opening game of the Women’s Super League season.
Rachel Daly opened the scoring late in the second half with a sublimely taken low strike shortly after Villa’s Kirsty Hanson, formerly of Man Utd, was sent off for a poor challenge on Hayley Ladd. But despite Villa’s earnest defensive shape and an intrepid debut performance from new keeper Daphne van Domselaar, Lucia Garcia drew the visitors level 10 minutes from time after a frantic bit of defending from a set-piece.
The goal led to a frenetic and fierce finale, and with eight minutes of time added on, Man Utd eventually punctured the Villa defence was more as veteran striker Rachel Williams found the back of the net to give Marc Skinner’s side the first three points of the new season.
Below, the Mirror walks you through the top five talking points from the first match of the 2023-24 WSL season.