Kelly Gago restored a point for Everton at Villa Park after her late strike sealed a thrilling 3-3 draw with Aston Villa in the WSL.
The forward struck twice, opening and closing the scoring, whilst Hikaru Kitagawa also found the net for the Toffees.
Despite Everton’s dominant performance, the hosts edged in front on two occasions, with Brian Sorensen’s side showing relentless fight and character to ensure they left Birmingham with something to show for their efforts.
It was the Blues who started on the front foot, with Ornella Vignola going close early, her header narrowly glancing above the crossbar after a fine deep cross from Toni Payne was lofted back across goal by Gago.
Rosa Van Gool was next to breach the Villa box as she reacted well to intercept a tame pass, however her effort from a tight angle agonisingly skimmed the side netting.
Everton maintained their attacking persistence and were quickly rewarded just after the ten-minute mark. Spotting Gago in space on the left side of the area, Martina Fernández played a perfectly weighted pass into her path, and the French international calmly slotted past Sabrina D’Angelo.
The visitors continued to dominate for the rest of the half, controlling possession and carving out chances to extend their lead.
Payne came close, though her powerful low strike narrowly missed at the bottom left-post whilst Maz Pacheco produced a defence-splitting ball, only for D’Angelo to react sharply before Van Gool could capitalise.
However, the hosts restored parity deep into stoppage time as Georgia Mullet met Noelle Maritz’s lofted ball to take the score level at the break.
The hosts then took the lead against the run of play in the 59th minute. Mullet turned provider with a fizzed a low ball into the area, which Kirsty Hanson reached on the stretch to net from close range.
Hoping to turn the tide, Brian Sorensen made a triple substitution in the 65th minute, replacing Pacheco, Honoka Hayashi, and Payne with Kitagawa, Hayley Ladd, and Yuka Momiki.
Just five minutes later, Kitagwa made an instant impact, with an impressive first touch curling finish into the bottom right corner, following a pin-point assist from Fernandez, making it her second of the afternoon.
Everton’s fortunes were disrupted once again four minutes later as Ebony Salmon’s strike deflected off Ruby Mace, leaving Emily Ramsey with little chance and restoring Villa’s lead.
The Toffees pushed hard for an equaliser, which they thoroughly deserved, with Rion Ishikawa’s effort painfully denied by the frame of the goal.
Eventually, Everton got the reward their performance merited, as Kelly Gago smashed the ball into the centre of the net from close range, following a well-timed cross from Ornella Vignola on the right.
Everton return to action at Goodison Park on Sunday as they face Manchester City in the WSL.
About The Author
Leave a Reply