West Ham United 0-0 Aston Villa

Aston Villa Women played out a tension-filled 0-0 draw with West Ham United on Tuesday.

Chances were at a premium for either side, but Villa put in a resolute performance to gain themselves a point.

The result lifts us off the foot of the Barclays FA Women's Super League table ahead of Saturday afternoon's crunch clash with Bristol City.

 

 

 

Notable changes were made from Saturday's fourth round Vitality Women's FA Cup defeat to Manchester City.

Lisa Weiß returned in between the posts, while Amy West retained her starting spot to make a first-ever start in the top flight.

Mana Iwabuchi also started from the off having flown back from her native Japan just last week.

There was a sense of piercing tension around the Chigwell Construction Stadium right from the start of this encounter with the Hammers, and the opening stages played out as such.

With the stakes being as high as they were, the action was often frantic in both halves.

There was very little to shout about in the way of clear-cut chances, with Kateřina Svitková curling a long-range effort over the bar after six minutes.

Despite the limited opportunities in the opponent's third, Villa did look threatening when going forward.

Stine Larsen didn't lack for effort, while Freya Gregory was always searching for chances to get West Ham on their heels.

The two sides went into the break all-square, but Villa were forced into a change to start the second.

Ella Franklin-Fraiture, who pulled out of the warm-up on Saturday, had to withdraw once again, with Chloë Arthur replacing her.

Chances, again, were few and far between in the second period, but Shania Hayles and Emily Syme both made lively impacts after they entered the fray.

West Ham did put the Villa defence under some late pressure, but Marcus Bignot's side stood firm to record a point and lift themselves off the foot of the division.