Crystal Palace 3-1 Aston Villa

Aston Villa are forced to wait another week for their first Women’s Super League win of the calendar year as they fell to a defeat 3-1 defeat away to Crystal Palace this afternoon.

A goal from Aniek Nouwen gave the Eagles the lead at the half-way point with Ashleigh Weerden extending their advantage eight minutes into the second-half.

Villa upped their intensity and fight and found a way back into the game through Lucy Parker in the 85^th minute but Katie Stengel inflicted the final blow deep into stoppage time to secure the 3-1 victory for Palace.

Natalia Arroyo made three changes to her side that suffered a 2-0 defeat away to Manchester City in the Women’s FA Cup last weekend as she brought Noelle Maritz, Kirsty Hanson and Rachel Daly back into the fold.

17-year-old under-21s defender Rachel Maltby also made the first-team squad for the first time as she was named amongst the substitutes.

Villa started the contest brightly and enjoyed most of the possession inside the opening 30 minutes.

Their first chance fell to Ebony Salmon in the 10^th minute as a well-weighted pass was slipped through the defence by Chasity Grant and into the forward’s path, but her shot was saved by Shae Yáñez.

Paula Tomàs strongly won the ball back inside the Palace half which allowed Miri Taylor to unleash a fierce strike from 25+ yards out, but her effort agonisingly landed on the top of the net.

Grant and Maritz linked up well down the right in the 19^th minute with the latter finding Jill Baijings on the edge of the box with a pass however she could only steer her shot over the goal.

Sabrina D’Angelo was called into action six minutes later as Palace broke forward with urgency and Clarissa Larisey was fed through on goal, but the keeper read the ball well and got to smother the danger.

Despite Villa’s dominating start to proceedings, it was the hosts that took the lead in the 33^rd minute as Nouwen headed home a corner kick from Lily Woodham.

Stengel looked to double Palace’s lead quickly after the restart as she got on the end of a pass from My Cato inside the box, but Parker took the sting out of the striker’s shot before D’Angelo got down to push it clear around her post.

Grant was presented with a chance to draw Villa level on the stroke of half-time as she found some space inside the final third before lifting a shot towards goal, but her effort frustratingly landed the wrong side of the target.

The comeback for Villa became an even bigger mountain to climb after the break as Weerden made it 2-0 to the home side in the 53^rd minute.

The pacey winger received a pass from Stengel inside the Villans’ half, carried the ball towards goal and smashed a shot from 19 yards out past D’Angelo in goal.

The goal woke Villa up and injected a new lease of life into them as they went on the hunt for their first goal of the contest.

Rachel Daly rose high inside the box in the 54^th minute as she met a free-kick from Taylor but Yáñez was equal to the effort.

Daly was involved again four minutes later as she flicked on a corner kick from Baijings which found Salmon at the back post however her first time shot flew wide.

Arroyo made four changes just after the hour mark with one of the substitutions, Jordan Nobbs, coming agonisingly close to pulling a goal back in the 69^th minute.

Out of the nowhere, the midfielder, thundered a terrific effort on the half-volley from distance but her shot crashed back off the cross bar and was eventually cleared.

Parker reduced the deficit for Villa in the 85^th minute as they finally got the goal they had been searching for.

The hosts failed to clear a dangerous corner kick from Missy Bo Kearns with the ball eventually falling to Parker who brought it down with ease before smashing it safely through a sea of bodies and into the back of the net.

But Villa’s hopes of salvaging something from the contest were short lived as Stengel sealed the three points for the Eagles five minutes into stoppage time.

The forward pounced on a mistake at the back from Villa and calmly slotted the ball into an empty net from just outside the area.