Aston Villa Women lost 1-0 to Liverpool at Bodymoor Heath on Wednesday afternoon.
Leanne Kiernan scored what would be the deciding goal inside the opening five minutes to hand Villa consecutive pre-season losses.
Carla Ward’s side improved as the game went on but came up short against Matt Beard’s newly promoted outfit.
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Ward welcomed back a raft of players upon the team’s return from Spain over the weekend.
Tash Harding started in midfielder alongside Olivia McLoughlin and Kenza Dali, while Lionesses Hannah Hampton and Rachel Daly were amongst the substitutes.
Anna Patten also returned to the squad to make up a strong-looking bench.
The visitors started strongly and took the lead inside two minutes.
Following an in-swinging corner from the left, the ball fell to Kiernan who smashed home from point-blank range.
Villa would grow into the game and almost produced an equalizer when Freya Gregory’s whipped cross flashed right across the face of goal.
Wholesale changes were made at the interval, with Patten, Ruesha Littlejohn and Daly amongst those to come on.
Villa enjoyed much more possession in the second half as they attempted to move the ball quickly towards their opponent’s third.
While there was little clear cut chances created by the hosts, momentum did gather and Chantelle Boye-Hlorkah saw an effort blocked from inside the area.
Villa continued to probe throughout the closing stages but came up short against the visitors.
Next up is a test against Merseyside’s other WSL representatives. Everton come to Bodymoor Heath on Sunday. Kick-off is at 2pm.
Villa: Leat (Hampton 61’), Mayling, E. Rabjohn (Patten 46’), Corsie (C), Pacheco, McLoughlin (Littlejohn 46’), Dali (McAteer 82’), Harding (Blindkilde Brown 46’), Lehmann (Boye-Hlorkah 46’), Gielnik (Daly 46’), Gregory (Turner 46’)
