Sara Monforte’s side ended their warm-up friendlies with a draw against Aston Villa
Villarreal Women faced the toughest game of all in the final test of the pre-season. The Yellows faced Aston Villa, an English team that plays in the Women’s Super League (English top division). It is worth noting that the team coached by Carla Ward finished the competition in fifth place in the 2022/23 season, just behind Chelsea, Manchester United, Arsenal and Manchester City.
The Yellows put in a solid performance from the opening whistle, in which they were able to control and circulate the ball to their liking. In fact, in the eighth minute, Mar Imbergamo stole a ball, gave it to Fatou Kanteh and it was the Catalan who scored the first goal of the game (0-1). Such was the determination of the visitors to improve that, in the 21st minute, Claudia Iglesias broke free on the left flank and scored the second goal with a powerful shot (0-2). However, Aston Villa did not let their heads drop, but increased their defensive pressure, provoking some mistakes from the Villarreal players, to level the score at half-time. Magill scored England’s first goal (2-1) in the 23rd minute and in the 25th minute Mullet equalised (2-2).
After the break, Sara Monforte moved the bench around a lot to give minutes of playing time to all the players. In fact, up to seven players came on: Elena de Toro, Lucía Cánoves, Virginia, Queralt, Marta Muñoz, María Llompart and Tere Morató. In the first few moments, the game was a little out of control, with Aston Villa scoring another goal from the penalty spot, converted by Mayling (3-2). However, little by little, Villarreal Women regained control of the ball and were able to level the match (3-3) with a goal by Yeni Giménez from a pass by Fatou Kanteh.
Lineups:
Aston Villa: Van Domselaar, Mayling, Patten, Corsie, Lehmann, Staniforth, Turner, Parker, Mullett, Magill, Pacheco.
Villarreal Women: C. Carbonell (Elena de Toro, m. 46); Nerea (Lucía Cánoves, m. 66), Giménez, C. Cubedo (Virginia, m. 46), Raquel; F. Lara (Queralt, m. 75), Soldevila, Claudia I. (Marta Muñoz, m. 75), Mar Imbergamo (M. Llompart, m. 75); Kanteh, McKenna (Tere, m. 60)
Goals: 0-1. Min. 8: Kanteh. 0-2. Min. 21: Claudia Iglesias. 1-2. Min. 23: Magill. 2-2. Min. 25: Mullett. 3-2. Min. 47: Mayling (p). 3-3. Min. 59: Giménez.
Matchday information: Match betweeen Villarreal Women and Aston Villa, at Villaitana (Benidorm).
