Full TimePosted at 90’+4′ Second Half ends, Aston Villa Women 2, Manchester United Women 3.Post updateGoal!Posted at 90’+4′ Goal! Aston Villa Women 2, Manchester United Women 3. Millie Turner (Manchester United Women) header from the centre of the box to the bottom right corner. Assisted by Katie Zelem with a cross following a set piece situation.Post updateBookingPosted at 90’+2′ Lucy Staniforth (Aston Villa Women) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.Post updateSubstitutionPosted at 90’+1′ Substitution, Manchester United Women. Frida Maanum Bøe Risa replaces Ella Toone.Post updateBookingPosted at 90′ Manchester United Women’s Leah Galton is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
Manchester United moved six points clear at the top of the Women’s Super League after Millie Turner’s stoppage time header secured a dramatic victory at Aston Villa on Friday evening. Rachel Daly had scored twice in the first half for Villa, either side of a Leah Galton strike, to put the home side in control. However, Nikita Parris pulled United level again on the hour mark before Turner powered in a Katie Zelem free kick in the fourth minute of added time to seal three points in one of the most exciting games of the season.
Villa hit the bar twice, while United were denied a goal shortly before half-time due to a questionable foul on home goalkeeper Hannah Hampton. United are now six points ahead of Manchester City, who play on Sunday, while they are seven clear of reigning champions Chelsea, who do not play this weekend due to Champions League commitments and now have three games in hand on the leaders.
Turner has been key for a United defence which before tonight had kept more WSL clean sheets than concede league goals before this match. However it is at the other end where she has perhaps made her two most important contributions this season with last gasp headers – away to Arsenal in November and then tonight.
Not even the tightest back line in England could cope with Daly on this form for long periods, nor with Villa’s threat from set-pieces. United sold Lucy Staniforth to Villa in January and her perfectly driven corner after nine minutes was met with a Daly header that looped over Mary Earps and inside the far post. Staniforth almost repeated the trick midway through the first half, finding Anna Patten with an identical corner which the centre back guided just higher than Daly and off the crossbar.
The visitors were sparked into life by Daly’s opener and levelled six minutes later through Galton, who evaded her marker and slid home Ona Batlle’s superb low cross from the right. United came close to taking the lead, Villa goalkeeper Hampton making a fine reaction save from Galton, however Daly was in irrepressible form and scored her swivelling volley from Maz Pacheco’s low cross to move her level with City’s Khadija Shaw in the WSL Golden Boot table.
United throw down gauntlet to chasers with this win as they put daylight between themselves and the title-chasing pack. With City not playing until Sunday, while Arsenal and Chelsea are not in WSL action this weekend, this was a perfect chance for United to make their mark and their hopes of a potential double – with a first Women’s FA Cup final coming up too – are alive.