In Aston Villa’s first home game of the season, the hosts thought they had secured all three points after an 88th-minute goal from Rachel Daly. However, Tottenham Hotspur’s Bethany England netted a dramatic equaliser in the 96th minute, ending the game 2-2.
Both teams came into this second weekend of the Women’s Super League hoping to claim all three points. Aston Villa narrowly lost their opening match to Chelsea, while Tottenham enjoyed a 4-0 victory over newly promoted Crystal Palace.
Aston Villa started brightly, finding themselves in promising positions early on and earning a few corners. In the sixth minute, Rachel Daly found the back of the net after a great ball from Jordan Nobbs, but the goal was ruled out for offside.
Despite Villa’s strong possession, Tottenham took the lead in the 22nd minute after Drew Spence was fouled in the box. Eveliina Summanen stepped up to convert the resulting penalty, putting the visitors in front.
Tottenham held onto their lead for the remainder of the first half, despite Aston Villa’s dominance.
In the second half, Aston Villa introduced Adriana Leon in the 67th minute, and just ten minutes later, she leveled the score with a clinical finish.
Villa continued to press and were rewarded in the 88th minute when Daly scored, giving the home side a 2-1 lead that seemed to secure the victory.
However, in the dying moments of stoppage time, Bethany England rose to head home Tottenham’s equaliser, making it 2-2 and ensuring the teams shared the points in a dramatic finish.
Aston Villa will next face Crystal Palace in a midweek League Cup match at home, while Tottenham Hotspur travel to face Championship side Charlton Athletic in their next midweek fixture.
Starting XIs:
Aston Villa: S.D’Angelo, P. Tomas, L.Parker, A.Patten, N.Maritz, M.Kearns, J.Nobbs, K.Hanson, K.Dali, C.Grant, R.Daly
Tottenham Hotspur: R.Spencer, A.Nilden, C.Hunt, M.Bartrip, A.Neville, E.Summanen, Maite Droz, J.Naz, D.Spence, H.Raso, M.Thomas
Featured image courtesy of Josh May via Flickr. No changes made to this image. License details found here.