Everton Women expert looks ahead at Aston Villa clash in WSL, chance to rally
We’re delighted to welcome Peter MacFarlane, member of the Everton Women Official Supporters Club, as our exclusive Everton Women expert.
Everton Women go into the Sunday lunchtime clash with Aston Villa under new management and looking to arrest a poor run of results in the WSL.
After the sudden exit of Jean-Luc Vasseur and his team the side fell to a painful defeat against Reading with Chris Roberts and Claire Ditchburn in charge.
Although goals from Anna Anvegård, Valérie Gauvin and Claire Emslie had provided a confidence-boosting 4-0 FA Cup win over Huddersfield in the game previously, the upheaval that followed negated the psychological gain.
You have to go back to November for the last league victory, where a late goal from Simone Magill was enough to take the points over Leicester City.
A victory here though would see the Toffees leapfrog their opponents into ninth and still have a game in hand on them, while the two extra games still to play over Brighton in eighth provide a good opportunity to climb the table.
Everton Women expert Peter MacFarlane sees the Villa match-up as a great opportunity to move on from the poor run and the coaching change, and sees the fans playing a key role over the rest of the season.
Speaking exclusively to Goodison News MacFarlane said: “Looking forward to this weekend, it’s another tough game, with Carla Ward’s Aston Villa coming to Walton Hall Park. Villa have really struggled recently, picking up only one win and losing six of their last seven games in the WSL so it’s vital that we take all three points this weekend if we are to get our season back up and running.
“There are still plenty of points to be played for, and although the pre-season hopes of one of those coveted European places are now a distant memory, it’s imperative that the players rally and attack the rest of the season to show us fans how much they care.
“Talking of the fans, we can play such an important role over the coming games. It’s vital that we show our support to the players and try to make Walton Hall Park a fortress. Tickets for the upcoming matches, including for this Sunday, are free to all Everton STH and members.
“Myself and Julie at the supporters club would be delighted to see as many people there as possible, it really does give the players such a huge boost when we are getting behind them. Let’s hope for three points and for some positivity to return to the team, we definitively need it!
It hasn’t been the season that fans had hoped for so far, but there is plenty still to play for, starting at 01.00pm at Walton Hall Park.
In other Everton news, the player ratings from the Premier League win over Leeds are in.