Aston Villa 1-2 West Ham: Hammers end Villa’s perfect WSL start

Aston Villa dropped their first factors of the Women’s Super League season as West Ham held on for a slender victory at Bescot Stadium.

Honoka Hayashi made it 2-0 earlier than West Ham keeper Mackenzie Arnold saved Alisha Lehmann’s second-half penalty.

Kenza Dali pulled a objective again for Villa and West Ham defender Hawa Cissoko was despatched off in a dramatic end to the sport.

The outcome lifted Paul Konchesky’s West Ham facet into sixth within the desk, degree on factors with fifth-placed Villa.

Before the sport, gamers from each groups got here collectively to show a banner studying “shield the gamers” after a latest impartial investigation discovered “systemic” abuse within the United States’ National Women’s Soccer League.

This weekend’s fixtures are the primary WSL video games to be performed for the reason that report was revealed.

Clinical Hammers punish Villa

Villa went into the latest worldwide break on the again of spectacular league wins over Manchester City and Leicester, and a penalty shootout success in opposition to Manchester United within the League Cup.

Their robust start to the marketing campaign earned supervisor Carla Ward the WSL supervisor of the month award for September, however the hosts had been gradual out of the blocks in opposition to West Ham and located themselves 2-0 down inside 1 / 4 of an hour.

Rachel Daly, the WSL’s joint high scorer this season with three, went near cancelling out Brynjarsdottir’s opener with a looping header that went narrowly over the crossbar, however Hayashi’s medical end gave West Ham a two-goal cushion moments later.

Villa’s Manchester United loanee Kirsty Hanson headed huge from a superb place and Anna Patten hit the put up with a header on the stroke of half-time, both facet of West Ham’s Viviane Asseyi discovering the side-netting from a decent angle.

Although Villa improved within the second half, they struggled to create any clear openings till the latter levels.

Referee Cheryl Foster awarded Villa a penalty when Kate Longhurst was adjudged to have dealt with the ball inside the realm, however Arnold was equal to Lehmann’s tame effort.

Dali despatched an impressive curling end into the highest nook to cut back the arrears, earlier than Cissoko was proven a pink card after showing to slap Sarah Mayling in an off-the-ball altercation.

Konchesky was additionally dismissed for remonstrating with Foster over the sending-off.