Aston Villa Women secured their first competitive victory of the season with a 2-0 win over Nottingham Forest in the Subway Players Cup.
Natalia Arroyo’s side were held during the opening 45 minutes at The City Ground despite enjoying the greater share of possession.
The breakthrough eventually arrived through Maya Hijikata in the 66th minute before Chasity Grant added the second with seven minutes remaining.
It gives Villa three points from their opening league-phase fixture and some welcome momentum after a difficult start to the Women’s Super League season.
Nottingham Forest Women vs Aston Villa Women decided after break
Arroyo made several changes from the side that rescued a late point against Brighton on Sunday.
Akane Okuma started in goal, while Oceane Deslandes, Rachel Maltby, Miri Taylor and Georgia Mullett were among those handed opportunities as Villa used the depth highlighted in our predicted XI ahead of the Forest clash.
The first half remained goalless despite Villa controlling much of the ball.
Arroyo then turned to her bench and the changes transformed the contest.
Hijikata was introduced before opening the scoring in the 66th minute to finally break Forest’s resistance.
Grant followed her from the bench and made the victory safe in the 83rd minute.
The final match data confirms Villa’s 2-0 victory, with Hijikata and Grant providing the decisive second-half goals.
Villa finally turn performances into victory
The result carries extra significance after Villa failed to win any of their opening three league fixtures.
A 1-1 draw at Chelsea was followed by a 4-1 home defeat against Manchester City before Lynn Wilms’ late goal earned another 1-1 draw at Brighton.
That meant Wednesday’s cup trip represented another opportunity for Arroyo’s rebuilt squad to convert promising periods into a result.
Villa had already entered the Forest game looking for their first victory of the campaign.
They finally have it.
A clean sheet away from home, two goals from substitutes and three points from the opening Players Cup fixture give Arroyo several positives before attention returns to the WSL.
Villa travel to Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday looking to carry that momentum into their search for a first league win of the season.
