Impressive defensive performances for both teams left the attackers frustrated in this tie at Victoria Road as the race to avoid relegation in the WSL remains too close to call.
As this WSL season rapidly reaches its conclusion, sides at both ends of the table will be becoming increasing desperate to notch those last few points needed to reach the expectations held for the club at the beginning of the campaign.
Few sides would have felt this pressure more than today’s opponents, West Ham United and Aston Villa. With both sides currently in the bottom three and only two points separating them, this had all the makings of a relegation six-pointer.
The game would be a difficult one to predict as despite the fact that West Ham came into this game clearly on better form, notching an upset 5-0 win over Reading in their last WSL game and an 11-0 thumping of Chichester & Selsey in the FA Cup over the weekend, the Hammers hold the joint-worst home record in the league, only scoring two points over eight games.
Conversely, the visitors would look at this game as a great opportunity to reverse their torrid run of form that has sunk them to the foot of the league, five defeats in a row for Villa and a demoralising 8-0 defeat to Manchester City in the FA Cup on Saturday.
The first half played out in almost a complete stalemate. Both sides were resolute in defence and managed to cut out any chances before their opponent would be able to find a clear shot on goal.
Aston Villa’s biggest spark would predictably come from their most high-profile acquisition, World Cup winner Mana Iwabuchi, who utilised her quick feet on multiple occasions to skip past players in claret and blue but would never be allowed enough space to set up a teammate, largely thanks to a smart first-half performance by Kate Longhurst.
The hosts would almost find daylight on the stroke of halftime thanks to a momentary lapse by the Villa defence. A moment of hesitation allowed Dagny Brynjarsdottir to attack a loose ball, but the visitors were able to clear before the Icelandic international was able to lash an effort towards goal.
The visitors would start the second half much brighter and would almost be rewarded for their efforts as West Ham goalkeeper Courtney Brosnan came far out of her goal to defend a free kick coming into the penalty area and while she was successful, she was left out of position when the ball was brought immediately back in.
The ball would fall over her head but Hawa Cissoko was on the line to thwart what looked to be the opening goal of this razor thin game.
The Londoners would carve out the biggest chance of the game after the hour mark as some good work in a crowded Aston Villa box by Emily van Egmond fell to Katerina Svitkova, whose shot was parried away at the bottom left corner by Lisa Weiss.
Unfortunately for West Ham fans, Svitkova would not be able to build on her close effort as she would be forced off by an injury just ten minutes later, an extremely troubling sign for Hammers fans at such a critical point of the season as the Czech striker looked in considerable pain.
Despite ending the game putting on immense pressure, the hosts were not able to put many of their shots on target to further challenge Weiss in the Villa goal and thus, the game ended goalless.
The result lifts West Ham above Birmingham by they are by no means safe as there are now only two points between Bristol City in twelfth and West Ham in ninth.
The Hammers also will be left anxious by an extremely difficult set of games remaining to secure safety, facing Everton, Arsenal, Villa again and Manchester City on the final day.
Conversely, Aston Villa arguably have a favourable run in as three of their four remaining games are against their direct rivals in the relegation scrap with the West Midlands outfit facing Arsenal on the final day.
The Inbound Observer 