Aston Villa 1 -1 Crystal Palace

FixturesAston Villa Women Vs. Crystal Palace Women - Sun, Oct 04 2026, 14:00Aston Villa Women picked up their third point of the season as they were held to a 1-1 draw by Crystal Palace in the Women's Super League on Sunday. Noelle Maritz broke the deadlock shortly after half time with her first goal for the club, but the home side levelled through Abbie Larkin in the final quarter of an hour to take a share of the points at Villa Park. Brian Sørensen's side are next in action on Sunday 18 October, when they host Liverpool in the WSL at Keys Park.After producing a match winning brace off the bench against Newcastle on Wednesday, midfielder Lucia Kendall was one of six players to return to the starting XI to face Crystal Palace. The Eagles struggled to contain the England international's movement between the lines, with her front post dart at a corner resulting in a curling effort that forced visitors keeper Pauline Peyraud-Magnin into an early save. Villa shot stopper Akane Okuma also got stuck into the action early doors, diving low and getting a strong left hand to Molly Bartrip's effort that was heading towards the bottom corner. Ten minutes later Amalie Vangsgaard flicked an effort goalward at the near post after neat interplay between Chasity Grant and Lynn Wilms, though Villa were denied again by a last-ditch block.Villa upped the ante as the first half wore on, pinning Palace into their final third, though a finishing flourish continued to evade them. Kendall pulled a shot wide from the edge of the area after smoothly turning away from two Palace counterparts, before Chasity Grant toe poked Noelle Maritz' pick out over the crossbar. At the other end of the field the Villa back line had to remain vigilant against the visitors' pace on transition. Having spent a large portion of the first half charging down the right flank, full-back Wilms showed superb positional awareness intercept Abbie Larkin's cross before it could reach Bethany England in the six yard box. Two further chances for the lead came and went before the interval. First Vangsgaard ran onto a slick through ball from Justine Kielland, but Peyraud-Magnin smothered her attempted chip. Then Maritz cut inside off the left and embarked on a marauding run, only to drive wide of the bottom corner as the deadlock held into the break. Villa's efforts were finally rewarded in the 55th minute when Maritz rolled into the far corner for the lead. The Swiss international made no mistake, opting for a finessed finish after more wonderful wing play from Grant had burst the Palace back line wide open. With the lead secured interim Head Coach Brian Sørensen turned to his bench just beyond the hour, with the fresh legs of Japan international Maya Hijikata replacing Kielland in the middle of the park. Villa pushed hard in search of a second goal cushion, though it was the visitors who struck the next decisive blow in the contest. Midfielder Larkin took advantage of disorganisation in the home ranks after Georgia Mullett had replaced Grant during another substitution, racing into midfield and firing the equaliser low beyond Okuma from 30 yards. With the spoils all to play for as the game entered the closing stages, both sides upped their attacking impetus in search of the winning goal. Substitute Mullett spurned a golden opportunity, glancing her finish onto the roof of the Palace net after another sweeping move down the right hand side.Then centre half Mathilde Harviken twice stepped in to rescue Villa in the final minutes. First the Norway international executed a perfectly timed sliding tackle in the box to deny Larkin a second goal of the game, before repeating the feat in stoppage time to stop Shannon O'Brien converting from three yards. Villa had one final chance to nick the spoils with Taylor taking aim from distance in the final seconds, but she was thwarted by a flying save from Peyraud-Magnin as the points were shared. Sørensen and his players will now take a two week pause for the first international break of the campaign, with club action returning on Sunday 18 October against Liverpool in Hednesford.Upcoming FixturesAston Villa Women Vs. Liverpool Women - Wed, Oct 10th 2026, 19:30