FA WSL Recap: Everton Women 0-2 Aston Villa

Everton Women continue to struggle this season, falling to a 2-0 home defeat to Aston Villa. The Blues, currently still under interim manager Chris Roberts, continue to be plagued by the same issues with finishing even when they do string together somewhat competent performances.

In the 61st minute today, captain and midfield mainstay Izzy Christiansen went down with an injury and had to be subbed off. The England international was the second player for the hosts removed due to injury; French winger Kenza Dali left in the 34’.

Both Christiansen and Dali had productive afternoons until they had to leave the pitch. Christiansen ran the midfield and served as the link between the defense and attack.

And despite logging just over half an hour, Dali was one of the Toffees’ most productive players of the outing. In the 4th minute, she ripped a dipping shot from outside the 18 and would have given her side the early advantage had it not been for a quick save from Villa goalkeeper Hannah Hampton.

About four minutes later, Dali again struck a shot from distance with the same result as the first; Hampton was alert to the danger. While Everton failed to convert on its early chances, the Villains capitalized in the first 30 minutes of the fixture as Emily Gielnik (17’) and Ramona Petzelberger (24’) snuck the ball past goalie Sandy MacIver.

The Merseyside club did fill up the stat sheet, earning the advantage in shots, shots on target and possession, but Villa came out ahead on corners — 8-4. After the Dali attempts, the Blues nearly clawed one goal back through Valérie Gauvin late in the afternoon, but the striker’s header was tipped onto the crossbar and cleared out of the danger area.

Sunday’s defeat is their fourth consecutive in league play, and with Leicester City getting a surprise win against West Ham, Everton drops into 11th in the table, just one spot clear of relegation — only one team gets relegated to the Championship. Still, they are seven points clear of last placed Birmingham City with the Toffees still having nine games to play this season.

Zero goals on five attempts on target further illustrate how desperate the Toffees have become for goals. They have netted 10 times in 13 matches this season and just two in their last five league fixtures. What’s more, no player has more than two markers in the league this season.

Next up for Everton is the fifth round of the FA Cup and a date with lower-tier Charlton. After the cup draw, the Blues face Aston Villa, Manchester City, Leicester, Chelsea and Manchester United.

The grueling five-game stretch ends with a must-win contest against Birmingham City, which sits at the bottom of the division. After the Birmingham match, there will be just three match weeks left in the campaign.

With yet another league defeat, Everton still is a team without direction or confidence. Interim manager Chris Roberts is left picking up the pieces from the failed tenures of Willie Kirk and Jean-Luc Vasseur. An expensive and talented team has yet to show any semblance of its collective ability, and the losses just keep piling up.