2021–22 Aston Villa W.F.C. season

The 2021–22 Aston Villa W.F.C. season was the club's 26th season under their Aston Villa affiliation, the organisation's 48th overall season in existence and their second season in the FA Women's Super League. Along with competing in the WSL, the club also contested two domestic cup competitions: the FA Cup and the League Cup.

Aston Villa

2021–22 season
Owner	NSWE Group
Chairman	Nassef Sawiris
Manager	Carla Ward
Stadium	Bescot Stadium, Walsall
FA WSL	9th
FA Cup	Fourth round
League Cup	Group stage
Top goalscorer	League: Remi Allen (3 goals) All: Remi Allen (5 goals)
Highest home attendance	8,367 (vs. Birmingham City, 8 May)
Lowest home attendance	324 (vs. Everton, 2 March)
Average home league attendance	1,639
Home colours Away colours Third colours
← 2020–21 2022–23 →

On 20 May 2021, Carla Ward was named as manager having resigned as manager of WSL rivals Birmingham City a week earlier.^[1] She replaced interim manager Marcus Bignot and departing head coach Gemma Davies who were both sacked at the end of the previous season.^[2]

Current squad

As of 17 February 2022^[3]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player 1 GK  ENG Hannah Hampton 2 MF  ENG Sarah Mayling 3 DF  ENG Meaghan Sargeant 4 MF  ENG Remi Allen 6 DF  ENG Anita Asante 7 FW  SUI Alisha Lehmann 8 MF  SCO Chloe Arthur 9 FW  AUS Emily Gielnik 10 MF  GER Ramona Petzelberger 11 FW  ENG Chantelle Boye-Hlorkah 12 FW  ENG Jodie Hutton

No. Pos. Nation Player 16 DF  ENG Olivia McLoughlin 17 FW  ENG Sophie Haywood 19 MF  ENG Laura Blindkilde 20 MF  ENG Jill Scott (on loan from Manchester City) 22 FW  JAM Shania Hayles 23 GK  ENG Sian Rogers 31 FW  IRL Ruesha Littlejohn 33 DF  ENG Maz Pacheco 42 DF  SCO Rachel Corsie 44 DF  ENG Anna Patten (on loan from Arsenal)

Preseason

Manchester United v Aston Villa

14 August 2021 Friendly	Manchester United	2–0	Aston Villa	Carrington
16:30 BST	Thomas 4' Hanson 17'	Report		Stadium: Trafford Training Centre Attendance: Behind-closed-doors

Aston Villa v Everton

21 August 2021 Friendly	Aston Villa	1–3	Everton	Walsall
12:30 BST	Petzelberger 48'	Report	Emslie 28' Christiansen 53' (pen.) Clinton 65'	Stadium: Bescot Stadium

Chelsea v Aston Villa

27 August 2021 Friendly	Chelsea	1–0	Aston Villa	Kingston upon Thames
12:30 BST	England 23'	Report		Stadium: Kingsmeadow

FA Women's Super League

Main article: 2021–22 FA WSL

Results summary

Overall								Home						Away
Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD
22	6	3	13	13	40	−27	21	1	2	8	5	17	−12	5	1	5	8	23	−15

Last updated: 8 May 2022.
Source: FA WSL

Results by matchday

Round	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22
Ground	H	A	A	H	A	H	A	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	H	A	H	A	H	A	H
Result	W	D	W	L	L	L	W	L	L	L	L	W	L	W	L	L	L	D	W	D	L	L
Position	5	5	3	6	7	8	6	10	10	10	10	9	9	9	9	9	10	10	9	9	9	9

Source: ^{[citation needed]}
A = Away; H = Home; W = Win; D = Draw; L = Loss

Results

Aston Villa v Leicester City

4 September 2021 1	Aston Villa	2–1	Leicester City	Walsall
12:30	Hutton  36' Asante  59' Mayling 63' Allen 64'	Report	Flint 39' Tierney  79' McManus  82' Brougham  84'	Stadium: Bescot Stadium Attendance: 741 Referee: Helen Conley

West Ham United v Aston Villa

11 September 2021 2	West Ham United	1–1	Aston Villa	Dagenham
11:30	Leon 8' Stringer  65'	Report	Littlejohn  66' Allen 90+2'	Stadium: Victoria Road Attendance: 1,106 Referee: Kirsty Dowle

Brighton & Hove Albion v Aston Villa

26 September 2021 3	Brighton & Hove Albion	0–1	Aston Villa	Crawley
14:00		Report	Gielnik 48'	Stadium: Broadfield Stadium Attendance: 1,140 Referee: Lisa Benn

Aston Villa v Arsenal

2 October 2021 4	Aston Villa	0–4	Arsenal	Aston
17:15	Pacheco  57'	Report	Little 51', 90+2' Iwabuchi 80' McCabe 83'	Stadium: Villa Park Attendance: 4,780 Referee: Emily Heaslip

Reading v Aston Villa

10 October 2021 5	Reading	3–0	Aston Villa	Reading
14:00	Eikeland 16' Rowe 19' Dowie 45+3' Vanhaevermaet  73'	Report		Stadium: Madejski Stadium Attendance: 578 Referee: Louise Saunders

Aston Villa v Chelsea

6 November 2021 6	Aston Villa	0–1	Chelsea	Walsall
12:30	Allen  56'	Report	Fleming 22' Ingle  28' Andersson  90+1'	Stadium: Bescot Stadium Attendance: 715 Referee: Abigail Byrne

Birmingham City v Aston Villa

14 November 2021 7	Birmingham City	0–1	Aston Villa	Birmingham
14:00	Sarri  75' Robertson  90+1'	Report	Arthur  22' Asante 25' Lehmann  55' Pacheco  90+3'	Stadium: St Andrew's Attendance: 1,386 Referee: Kirsty Dowle

Manchester City v Aston Villa

20 November 2021 8	Manchester City	5–0	Aston Villa	Manchester
11:30	Weir 48' Stanway 51' Raso 77', 81' Hemp 78'	Report		Stadium: Academy Stadium Attendance: 1,098 Referee: Abigail Byrne

Aston Villa v Tottenham Hotspur

12 December 2021 9	Aston Villa	1–2	Tottenham Hotspur	Walsall
18:00	Allen 19',  77' Littlejohn  45'	Report	Simon 29' (pen.) Williams  45', 68' Clemaron  62'	Stadium: Bescot Stadium Attendance: 385 Referee: Kirsty Dowle

Manchester United v Aston Villa

19 December 2021 10	Manchester United	5–0	Aston Villa	Leigh
12:00	Toone 8', 79' Zelem 13' (pen.) Staniforth 50' Thomas 73' Hanson  76' Ladd  90+1'	Report	Littlejohn  52' Mayling  81' Boye-Hlorkah  87'	Stadium: Leigh Sports Village Attendance: 1,001 Referee: Rebecca Welch

Aston Villa v Everton

8 January 2022	Aston Villa	P–P	Everton	Walsall
12:30				Stadium: Bescot Stadium
Note: Postponed due to a COVID-19 outbreak at Everton[4]

Aston Villa v Manchester City

15 January 2022 11	Aston Villa	0–3	Manchester City	Walsall
12:30		Report	Stanway 5', 75' Losada 41' Greenwood  58'	Stadium: Bescot Stadium Attendance: 483 Referee: Louise Saunders
Note: Kickoff delayed until 13:00 due to pitch inspection

Leicester City v Aston Villa

23 January 2022 12	Leicester City	1–2	Aston Villa	Burton upon Trent
14:00	Hampton 76' (o.g.)	Report	Purfield 4' (o.g.) Hayles  31' Hampton  77' Lehmann 90+3'	Stadium: Pirelli Stadium Attendance: 616 Referee: Elizabeth Simms

Aston Villa v West Ham United

6 February 2022 13	Aston Villa	1–2	West Ham United	Walsall
18:00	Lehmann 42' (pen.)	Report	Stringer 12',  36' Walker  40' Svitková 52' Longhurst  60'	Stadium: Bescot Stadium Attendance: 334 Referee: Lucy May

Everton v Aston Villa

13 February 2022 14	Everton	0–2	Aston Villa	Liverpool
13:00		Report	Gielnik 17' Petzelberger 23' Littlejohn  81'	Stadium: Walton Hall Park Attendance: 419 Referee: Elizabeth Simms

Aston Villa v Everton

2 March 2022 15	Aston Villa	0–1	Everton	Walsall
19:00	Mayling  90+4'	Report	Graham  11' Galli 80' Dali  90+4'	Stadium: Bescot Stadium Attendance: 324 Referee: Robert Massey-Ellis
Note: Rescheduled from 8 January 2022

Aston Villa v Brighton & Hove Albion

5 March 2022 16	Aston Villa	0–1	Brighton & Hove Albion	Walsall
11:30		Report	Le Tissier 28' Carter  90+3'	Stadium: Bescot Stadium Attendance: 496 Referee: Louise Saunders

Chelsea v Aston Villa

13 March 2022 17	Chelsea	1–0	Aston Villa	Kingston upon Thames
14:00		Report	Kerr 90+2',  90+2'	Stadium: Kingsmeadow Attendance: 2,655 Referee: Abigail Byrne

Aston Villa v Reading

26 March 2022 18	Aston Villa	1–1	Reading	Walsall
12:30	Petzelberger 76' Corsie  89'	Report	Vanhaevermaet 69' (pen.)	Stadium: Bescot Stadium Attendance: 461 Referee: Lauren Impey

Tottenham Hotspur v Aston Villa

3 April 2022 19	Tottenham Hotspur	0–1	Aston Villa	Canons Park
14:00	Clemaron  87'	Report	Petzelberger 87' Pacheco  90+3'	Stadium: The Hive Attendance: 508 Referee: Farai Hallam

Aston Villa v Manchester United

24 April 2022 20	Aston Villa	0–0	Manchester United	Walsall
18:00		Report		Stadium: Bescot Stadium Attendance: 941 Referee: Emily Heaslip

Arsenal v Aston Villa

1 May 2022 21	Arsenal	7–0	Aston Villa	Borehamwood
14:15	Miedema 9', 13' Corsie 52' (o.g.) Mead 61' Wubben-Moy 66' Blackstenius 83' Parris 90' (pen.) Foord  90+1'	Report	Petzelberger  54'	Stadium: Meadow Park Attendance: 2,305 Referee: Lisa Benn

Aston Villa v Birmingham City

8 May 2022 22	Aston Villa	0–1	Birmingham City	Aston
12:00	Asante  45'	Report	Sarri 10'	Stadium: Villa Park Attendance: 8,367 Referee: Rebecca Welch

League table

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
7	Brighton & Hove Albion	22	8	2	12	24	38	−14	26
8	Reading	22	7	4	11	21	40	−19	25
9	Aston Villa	22	6	3	13	13	40	−27	21
10	Everton	22	5	5	12	18	41	−23	20
11	Leicester City	22	4	1	17	14	53	−39	13

Source: FA WSL
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Number of goals scored.

Women's FA Cup

Main article: 2021–22 Women's FA Cup

As a member of the first tier, Aston Villa entered the FA Cup in the fourth round proper.

Aston Villa v Chelsea

29 January 2022 Fourth round	Aston Villa	1–3	Chelsea	Walsall
13:00	Petzelberger 90+5' (pen.)	Report	Reiten 18', 62' Harder 28' (pen.)	Stadium: Bescot Stadium Attendance: 1,093 Referee: Abigail Bryne

FA Women's League Cup

Main article: 2021–22 FA Women's League Cup

Group stage

Liverpool v Aston Villa

13 October 2021 Group stage	Liverpool	1–1 (5–4 p)	Aston Villa	Birkenhead
19:00	Kiernan 66' Lawley  74'	Report	Hayles 2'	Stadium: Prenton Park
	Penalties
	Bailey Holland Daniëls Robe Hodson		Boye-Hlorkah Allen Mayling Hutton Petzelberger

Aston Villa v Sheffield United

17 November 2021 Group stage	Aston Villa	1–2	Sheffield United	Walsall
19:30	Boye-Hlorkah 48',  65' Davison  70'	Report	Lipka 11' Sweetman-Kirk 20' Roberts  61'	Stadium: Bescot Stadium

Sunderland v Aston Villa

5 December 2021 Group stage	Sunderland	0–7	Aston Villa	Hetton-le-Hole
12:00	Herron  35'	Report	Blindkilde 1' Petzelberger 10' Littlejohn  26' Allen 41', 90' Lehmann 72', 76' Boye-Hlorkah 84'	Stadium: Eppleton CW

Aston Villa v Blackburn Rovers

15 December 2021 Group stage	Aston Villa	0–1	Blackburn Rovers	Walsall
19:45		Report	Leek 69'	Stadium: Bescot Stadium

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	WPEN	LPEN	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Liverpool	4	1	2	1	0	3	2	+1	8	Advances to knock-out stage
2	Sunderland	4	1	2	0	1	3	9	−6	7	Possible knock-out stage based on ranking
3	Blackburn Rovers	4	2	0	0	2	4	4	0	6
4	Sheffield United	4	1	0	2	1	3	3	0	5
5	Aston Villa	4	1	0	1	2	9	4	+5	4

Source: thefa.com
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Number of goals scored; 4) Number of wins; 5) Head-to-head record

Squad statistics

Appearances

As of 8 May 2022

Starting appearances are listed first, followed by substitute appearances after the + symbol where applicable.

No.	Pos	Nat	Player	Total		FA WSL		FA Cup		League Cup
				Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
1	GK	ENG	Hannah Hampton	22	0	20	0	1	0	0+1	0
2	MF	ENG	Sarah Mayling	25	1	21	1	1	0	2+1	0
3	DF	ENG	Meaghan Sargeant	13	0	10+2	0	0	0	1	0
4	MF	ENG	Remi Allen	22	5	19	3	1	0	1+1	2
6	DF	ENG	Anita Asante	23	1	21	1	1	0	1	0
7	FW	SUI	Alisha Lehmann	23	4	21	2	0	0	2	2
8	MF	SCO	Chloe Arthur	21	0	12+5	0	1	0	0+3	0
9	FW	AUS	Emily Gielnik	17	2	13+2	2	0	0	1+1	0
10	MF	GER	Ramona Petzelberger	23	4	18+1	2	1	1	2+1	1
11	FW	ENG	Chantelle Boye-Hlorkah	22	2	11+7	0	0	0	2+2	2
12	FW	ENG	Jodie Hutton	9	0	1+3	0	0+1	0	3+1	0
16	DF	ENG	Olivia McLoughlin	14	0	3+7	0	0+1	0	3	0
17	FW	ENG	Sophie Haywood	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
19	MF	ENG	Laura Blindkilde	15	1	7+4	0	0+1	0	3	1
20	MF	ENG	Jill Scott	8	0	6+1	0	1	0	0	0
22	FW	JAM	Shania Hayles	17	1	3+10	0	1	0	3	1
23	GK	ENG	Sian Rogers	7	0	2+1	0	0	0	4	0
24	MF	ENG	Olivia Rabjohn	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
26	FW	ENG	Isobel Goodwin	1	0	0	0	0	0	0+1	0
27	FW	ENG	Missy Goodwin	1	0	0	0	0	0	0+1	0
28	DF	ENG	Evie Rabjohn	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
31	FW	IRL	Ruesha Littlejohn	20	0	11+6	0	1	0	2	0
32	MF	WAL	Mary McAteer	1	0	0	0	0	0	0+1	0
33	DF	ENG	Maz Pacheco	25	0	22	0	1	0	1+1	0
42	DF	SCO	Rachel Corsie	7	0	5+1	0	0+1	0	0	0
44	DF	ENG	Anna Patten	8	0	7	0	1	0	0	0
Players away from the club on loan:
5	DF	ENG	Elisha N'Dow	10	0	5+2	0	0	0	2+1	0
15	DF	ENG	Natalie Haigh	4	0	0+1	0	0	0	3	0
18	MF	ENG	Freya Gregory	6	0	1+2	0	0	0	2+1	0
Players who appeared for the club but left during the season:
20	FW	ENG	Gemma Davison	7	0	0+3	0	0	0	3+1	0
21	MF	GER	Marisa Ewers	9	0	3+2	0	0+1	0	2+1	0

Transfers

Transfers in

Date	Position	Nationality	Name	From	Ref.
30 June 2021	FW		Alisha Lehmann	West Ham United	[5]
1 July 2021	MF		Remi Allen	Leicester City	[6]
2 July 2021	MF		Sarah Mayling	Birmingham City	[7]
	FW		Chantelle Boye-Hlorkah	Everton	[7][8]
3 July 2021	DF		Meaghan Sargeant	Bristol City	[9]
	GK		Hannah Hampton	Birmingham City	[10]
16 August 2021	DF		Maz Pacheco	West Ham United	[11]
1 September 2021	FW		Ruesha Littlejohn	Birmingham City	[12]
2 September 2021	FW		Emily Gielnik	Vittsjö GIK	[13]
3 September 2021	FW		Gemma Davison	Tottenham Hotspur	[14]
27 January 2022	DF		Rachel Corsie	Kansas City Current	[15]

Loans in

Date	Position	Nationality	Name	From	Until	Ref.
4 January 2022	DF		Anna Patten	Arsenal	End of season	[16]
25 January 2022	MF		Jill Scott	Manchester City	End of season	[17]

Transfers out

Date	Position	Nationality	Name	To	Ref.
18 May 2021	DF		Ella Franklin-Fraiture		[18]
	MF		Emma Follis	Charlton Athletic	[18][19]
	MF		Amy West	Nottingham Forest	[18][20]
	DF		Caroline Siems	Bayer Leverkusen	[18][21]
	FW		Diana Silva	Sporting CP	[18][22]
	FW		Mana Iwabuchi	Arsenal	[18][23]
	MF		Nadine Hanssen		[18]
18 June 2021	FW		Stine Larsen	BK Häcken	[24][25]
6 August 2021	DF		Asmita Ale	Tottenham Hotspur	[26][27]
19 August 2021	GK		Lisa Weiß	Wolfsburg	[28][29]
4 January 2022	FW		Gemma Davison	Watford	[30][31]
7 January 2022	FW		Missy Goodwin	Leicester City	[32]
26 January 2022	MF		Emily Syme	Bristol City	[33][34]
17 February 2022	MF		Marisa Ewers	Retired	[35]

Loans out

Date	Position	Nationality	Name	To	Until	Ref.
3 September 2021	MF		Emily Syme	Sheffield United	26 January 2022	[36]
7 January 2022	MF		Freya Gregory	Leicester City	End of season	[37]
18 January 2022	DF		Natalie Haigh	Coventry United	End of season	[38]
27 January 2022	DF		Elisha N'Dow	Coventry United	End of season	[39]