Match reportTaylor Hinds double gives Liverpool WSL victory at Villa Park
Taylor Hinds scored twice as Liverpool returned to winning ways in the Barclays Women’s Super League with a 2-1 result against Aston Villa.
The Jamaica international dispatched a pair of assured finishes at the back post during the first half of Sunday’s encounter at Villa Park.
Gabi Nunes halved the hosts’ deficit from yards out early in the second period but the Reds held firm in the remainder to secure all three points.
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Watch on YouTubeThe game needed a spark in the early stages, with little in the way of goalmouth incident.
Olivia Smith saw appeals for a penalty ignored when she thought a shot inside the box had been blocked with a handball, while Ceri Holland struck too high from the edge of the area having neatly spun away from former Reds teammate Missy Bo Kearns.
Matt Beard’s side took the lead on 26 minutes, though, and it was a goal of such quality that it was worth the wait.
Marie Höbinger accelerated a move from her own half with a lofted pass forward that Leanne Kiernan flicked to Grace Fisk and sprinted through to collect the return.
Attacking the space on the right side of the box, Kiernan rolled a low cross over and Hinds met it with an emphatic, rising finish past Villa goalkeeper Sabrina D’Angelo.
The home side might have responded immediately with a foray along the right seeing play switched to the other wing and an unmarked Kirsty Hanson – but her effort was deflected behind.
Jordan Nobbs swerved a free-kick from a good central position off target as the contest livened up, and Liverpool then doubled their advantage on the stroke of half-time.
Again it came from the right-hand side, with Fisk delivering a dangerous diagonal into the Villa area. Kiernan tumbled as she tried to reach it and as she began to appeal for a spot-kick, Hinds arrived and made it irrelevant by tucking a low hit past D’Angelo.
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The hosts deployed a triple substitution at the outset of the second half and the desired impact materialised just four minutes after the restart.
Lucy Staniforth, one of the introductions from the bench, lifted in a cross from the right channel and at the far post Nunes managed to force the ball over the line.
It had developed into a much livelier affair now and Gemma Bonner had half a chance when picked out by Höbinger’s corner, though her angled header was caught by the ’keeper.
The Reds really needed their stopper just past the hour mark, Rachael Laws crucially sticking out a left foot to deny Hanson’s blast across goal from the left.
Villa continued to push and while Liverpool kept them at relative arm’s length, they did need Laws to make another important save in stoppage time.
Miri Taylor got excellent contact on a thump from around 25 yards and Laws palmed it out to ensure Beard’s side clinched their second victory of the WSL campaign.
Team
Laws, Fisk (Parry, 69), Clark, Bonner, Matthews (Silcock, 80), Hinds, Nagano (Evans, 55), Holland, Höbinger, Kiernan (Kapocs, 69), Smith (Enderby, 80).
Unused subs: Micah, Fahey, Daniels.
Next up
Liverpool return to St Helens Stadium next Sunday (November 10) to host reigning champions Chelsea in the WSL.
Kick-off is 12.30pm GMT and tickets can be purchased online here.
This article has been automatically translated and, while all reasonable efforts have been made to ensure accuracy, some errors in translation are possible. Please refer to the original English-language version of the article for the official version.