Aston Villa 1-1 West Ham

Aston Villa Women were held to a 1-1 draw by West Ham United at Villa Park on Sunday.

Alisha Lehmann broke the deadlock late in the second half as Villa thought they were en route to a rare home victory.

But Shannon Cooke nodded in for the Hammers in the 94th minute to ensure a share of the points in B6.

The result dents Villa's hopes of finishing inside the top six as they began their final three games of the season with a frustrating stalemate.

Carla Ward made four changes from the side that started last week’s 3-0 defeat to Chelsea.

Sophia Poor, who made her debut against the champions, was handed her first start for the suspended Anna Leat.

Meanwhile, Dan Turner, Kirsty Hanson and Adriana Leon came in for Rachel Corsie, Simone Magill and Ebony Salmon.

The game immediately got off to a transitional start, with both teams marauding up and down the pitch with relative ease.

But it was the visitors who fashioned the first opening of note when Riko Ueki’s firm effort from close range was stopped by Poor after seven minutes.

There wasn’t much else, in terms of clearcut opportunities, to report on during the remainder of the first half.

But Villa’s most dangerous passage of play came when Hanson burst down the left-hand side in customary fashion.

The Scotland international galloped all the way down to the byline but herb all across goal evaded everyone in the middle.

Leon then tried her luck from the opposite side, stinging the palms of Mackenzie Arnold from a tight angle.

It would go without saying that an increase in tempo and urgency was required in order to break the deadlock after the break, and Villa were close to doing just that after 49 minutes when Rachel Daly headed over from Hanson’s cross.

At the other end, Viviane Asseyi sent a header of her own just wide of the post from a corner kick.

Ward brought on Salmon and Alisha Lehmann in the chase for an opening goal, but not before Dali’s powerful free-kick was tipped over the bar by Arnold.

Villa went into stoppage time thinking they had secured a rare home victory but the last laugh would be had by West Ham.

Ueki sent in a cross on 94 minutes and Cooke nodded the ball beyond Poor to ensure the spoils were shared.