Goals from Leah Galton and Ella Toone helped Manchester United to set the pace for the rest of their WSL title rivals, leaving the Red Devils four points clear at the top and guaranteed to stay there until the next matchday.
Manchester United came into this game with the prospect of opening a four-point gap at the top of the WSL before Sunday’s fixtures, while Aston Villa were desperate to avoid being the first WSL team to lose their opening four home games without finding the net.
The visitors would be forced into a key change in their attack as Christen Press was unavailable due to illness and the injury worries would only intensify as early in the game, Jackie Groenen was brought off the field for treatment and would then be replaced by Lucy Staniforth.
Despite both sides residing at opposite ends of the league table, the early stages of the game were quite competitive, with good passages of play from both teams but neither being able to test the respective goalkeepers.
United would find the net with 24 minutes played after they were able to dispossess Anita Asante in the final third.
Hayley Ladd would then thread a well-weighted ball through to Leah Galton, who tucked the ball into the bottom left corner to give the Red Devils a 1-0 lead.
Much of the tone of the game after the opener was the Villains trying to break through the United press, and while they were sporadically able to play a pass through the United defence for an attacker to run onto, more often than not, their efforts would either be snuffed out by United keeper Mary Earps or one of the Manchester backline.
In United’s case, when their press was successful and they were able to win the ball in the Villa half, they opted to create chances primarily down the left wing with the goalscorer Galton.
Unfortunately for the Manchester outfit, Galton’s crosses seemed to never be able to find a white shirt in the Villa penalty area, leaving the first half to end with only the one goal separating the two sides.
The visitors would come out of the first half pushing to double their lead as a Galton cross was able to find Tobin Heath at the far post, who laid the ball off to Ella Toone but her subsequent shot was blocked. The chances would come thick and fast from that point with both sides striking the crossbar.
The league leaders would have another chance to score just after the hour mark as some slick play near the touchline by Heath allowed her to play in Toone, who shot for the far post but her effort would curl just past the post.
As the second half drew on, Villa were clearly having trouble playing the ball out from the back with the same effectiveness that they managed in the first half, with United’s press never letting up.
The only complaint that United fans would have had from the majority of the second half would be that they were not able to add to the scoresheet.
United would finally bag their second with just under two minutes left of the ninety as a botched clearance from Villa keeper Lisa Weiss only went as far as Ella Toone, who chipped the ball from outside of the area to secure a 2-0 win for the WSL front-runners.
The result leaves Casey Stoney’s Red Devils secure at the top of the WSL regardless of the rest of the weekend’s results while Villa are still searching for their first home win of the season.
Manchester United’s next test on their hot form will be an away trip to Reading, while Villa travel to fellow strugglers Tottenham.
The Inbound Observer 