Ward full of praise for Aston Villa after emphatic victory over Leicester City | OneFootball

Carla Ward had nothing but praise for her side following Aston Villa’s emphatic 5-0 victory over Leicester City at Villa Park yesterday.

The visitors were in much-improved form going into the match, mounting a serious bid for Barclays Women’s Super League survival, however, it was Aston Villa who flew to a comprehensive win at Villa Park, thanks to braces from Rachel Daly and Alisha Lehmann, along with a goal from Kenza Dali.

When speaking in the post-match press conference, Aston Villa boss Ward was full of praise for her side after recording their latest win, although it was a physically and mentally challenging afternoon.

“It was focused, it was a professional performance and obviously, we’ve got it over the line with five goals and a clean sheet,” Ward said. “I don’t know whether you’d see that or not when we’ve just won 5-0, but it was a tired performance at times. There were times that we didn’t look after the ball well enough, but that is because of last week, they put everything into that.”

The stellar performance has boosted The Villans’ hopes of finishing as high as fifth in the Barclays Women’s Super League table. Eight points now separate fifth-place Aston Villa and their nearest challengers, but Ward is keeping her feet on the ground, she believes in the gradual and sustainable development of the team.

She said “At the start of the season, I set out to the players and staff that we wanted top six and that was the reality. We are close to that. I think we needed one more win to achieve that to be mathematically there.

“I think it’s just important that we continue to keep building and I say this all the time, it’s not about running before you walk, it’s about continuing to grow on and off the pitch in every department, making sure that everything’s sustainable for us to be able to continue to grow.”

Attackers Daly and Lehmann were standout performers at Villa Park, wowing over 6,000 fans in attendance. Ward was very complimentary about both players.

Ward said “She’s (Daly) been first class for us all year. We might have considered taking her off; I’ll be honest, the reason I didn’t is because I want her to continue to strive for that Golden Boot and I want to give her the opportunity to obviously get there, but today, she was fantastic again.

“Alisha Lehmann is a wonderful human being, such an unbelievable talent, but as a person, she’s a really good person. She’s great to have in the building; she’s a good teammate.

“She came out of the team last week from a tactical point of view, but what you see is what you get with Lish, she’s a great pro. She’s come back in today and she was sensational. I said to her before the game ‘you’ll score today’, so that’s why she came over when she scored.”

Ward has had the benefit of flipping between two in-form keepers this season; New Zealand’s Anna Leat and UEFA Women’s EURO 2022 winner Hannah Hampton. The latter put in a remarkable performance against Leicester City, keeping a clean sheet despite facing some attacking pressure from the visitors.

“I would argue right now that Hannah Hampton’s probably the most in-form goalkeeper in the WSL,” Ward said. “She’s in unbelievable form.

“I’ve worked with the player for three years now and I’ve never seen this form from her, so credit to her. Since the turn of the year, she’s been nothing short of sensational.”

Ward commented on Aston Villa’s club strategy and brand development in growing the women’s game. She was pleased to see more than 6,000 paying fans in the stadium.

She said “What we are doing is building a brand of football that people want to pay to come and watch. What this football club is doing is they have a great strategy, I think it’s great. Every single person in this building today paid money to be here, so that’s a credit to Aston Villa.”

Aston Villa’s next Barclays Women’s Super League fixture is against Chelsea in Walsall on Sunday evening.