Aston Villa midfielder ends injury nightmare as Carla Ward lands new job
Aston Villa Women are targeting their fourth successive win in all competitions this weekend as Shaun Goater's side head to Everton in the Women's Super League on Saturday.
They come into the game on the back of a 9-0 win over Bristol Rovers in the Women's FA Cup, which followed a 3-1 victory over West Ham last month and a 4-1 triumph against Charlton in the Women's League Cup. All three wins have come under Goater, who is in interim charge following the sacking of Robert de Pauw.
The Dutchman left with Villa sitting ninth in the WSL with just one victory from their opening nine league fixtures, leaving the club one point above the relegation zone. He had signed a three-year deal with the option of a further year with Villa in June following the departure of Carla Ward.
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Villa correspondent John Townley takes a look at the latest goings on in and around the Women's side...
Confidence high after 9-0 rout
Villa's 9-0 rout of Bristol Rovers in the fifth round of the Women's FA Cup proved what confidence Goater's players have right now. Since he replaced De Pauw, Villa really have turned a corner, scoring 16 goals in their last three matches.
Gabi Nunes - who joined Villa in September - bagged a hat-trick for the first time since arriving at the club, while Rachel Daly scored a brace in the first half.
Paula Tomas, Chasity Grant and Kirsty Hanson were also on target as Villa kicked-off of the New Year in the best way possible.
Aston Villa will face either Brighton & Hove Albion or Durham in the Women's FA Cup fifth round.
Villa's opponents will be confirmed on Wednesday 29th January as Brighton face Durham at home (19:00pm kick-off) for their rearranged fourth round clash. The match is set to take place on the weekend of February 8th.
Jill Baijings ends injury nightmare
It was Jill Baijings who netted Villa’s ninth and final goal of the night as she marked her return from a long injury lay-off. After joining the club, she suffered a back injury in pre-season and was out for 191 days.
On her debut, the 23-year-old Netherlands midfielder spun her marker inside the box before drilling a strong shot past several Bristol Rovers shirts and into the bottom right hand corner of goal.
"It was really special, these last couple of months were really hard for me," she said after the game. "I came new at the club and got injured so that was really hard so making some minutes tonight and scoring my first goal for Aston Villa feels really good.
"I was hoping that we would score a lot of goals first-half so I was like ‘yes, it’s 5-0 I can come in at the break’. It’s good that I can play this game and get some minutes – 45 minutes is really good.”
Baijings added: "Everyone said just enjoy coming on and just enjoy the game but you’re still hoping for more and I didn’t want to get a lot of pressure on me, but it always feels good to score goals.
"I got injured in pre-season so I wasn’t around the team all the time, but they were always there for me and supported me. They always asked, ‘how do you feel’, ‘how’s your injury’ and ‘when are you back’, so I felt the support from everyone at the club."
Paula Tomas bags first goal
Paula Tomas scored her first for Villa against Rovers following her summer switch from Levante. She joined on a two-year deal, with the option of a further year, having turned professional with Granotes in 2020.
The 23-year-old has racked up 13 appearances so far and has played a key role in the club's campaign so far. Giving her first-ever interview in English to Villa TV after the game, the defender expressed her joy of scoring her first goal.
"I feel great, it’s good to start the year like this,” she said. "I’m happy for my teammates that they scored too."
She added: "I'm happy here. My teammates are good and I’m happy about that. I like the fans so much."
Carla Ward lands new job
Former Villa boss Ward was appointed Republic of Ireland head coach earlier this week, replacing Eileen Gleeson.
The 41-year-old has taken charge with immediate effect and will lead the country through to the end of the 2027 World Cup campaign.
Ward's first game in charge will be the Uefa Nations League opener against Turkey at Tallaght Stadium on 21 February.
"This is an unbelievable opportunity, not just with the national team but in helping to add to the fantastic work being done to develop women and girls' football," she said.
"Over the next two and a half years, as we build towards the World Cup, we can make a real difference and I’m looking forward to getting started."
Recall and a departure
The winter window for Women's Super League and Women's Championship clubs opened on Wednesday January 1, 2025 and closes at 11pm on Thursday January 30, 2025
Villa haven't been particularly active yet, but they did recall Freya Gregory from her loan spell at Southampton earlier this week. The 22-year-old joined the Saints in July after previous loan stints at Leicester City and Reading.
Meanwhile, the club also recently confirmed Anna Leat has left the club by mutual consent after she expressed her desire to be closer to her family in New Zealand.
Leat joined Villa in the summer of 2022 and went on to make 22 appearances in all competitions.
