Hat-trick hero Sarah Wiltshire hailed the fighting spirit of her Yeovil Town side after they came back from two goals down to beat Aston Villa 4-2.
The Lady Glovers’ successful comeback from 2-0 at half-time, after goals from Hannah George and Katie Wilkinson, sees them go to the top of the FA Women’s Super League 2.
Wiltshire’s opening two got Yeovil level with Nicola Cousins adding a third before the Welsh international secured her treble in the 89th minute.
“Obviously it’s always good to score a hat-trick, I’m just pleased that after we were 2-0 down we were able to score four goals in the second half,” Wiltshire said.
“I think that it shows a lot about the squad that we could comeback like we did. We didn’t give up, we fought back and everyone loves a comeback.
“For my third goal, I think it was Ellie (Curson) who put the ball through and I just went after it and luckily I got there and it went in.
“We are just going to take each game as it comes, we didn’t start off very well – I think that we were still tired from Thursday (against Bristol City), but we put it right in the second half.”
George had given the visitors the lead in the 31st minute when she got the final touch on Beth Merrick’s free-kick to nod past Charlotte Haynes.
Wilkinson slotted home from close range to double Villa’s lead with her seventh goal of the season.
Wiltshire reduced the arrears with a delicate chip within two minutes of the restart and the home side were soon level when the striker turned home a cross from Helen Bleazard.
The Lady Glovers were ahead in the 76th minute when Cousins found the target and Wiltshire completed her hat-trick with a volley over Jess Myers to complete a memorable comeback.
Aston Villa head coach Joe Hunt admitted he was disappointed to see his side let a dominant position slip away.
“For us, it’s definitely a game of two halves – I thought in the first half we were very, very good 2-0 was probably the right score,” he said.
“From then, it was the same old problems coming back to haunt us in the second half.
“From 2-0 up at half-time, we should be winning the game. We shouldn’t be losing 4-2 or drawing the game, we should be winning the game.”
To buy tickets to an FA Women’s Super League match near you visit: http://www.ticketstores.co.uk/fawsl/
Yeovil Town Ladies 4
Sarah Wiltshire 47, 60, 89, Nicola Cousins 76
Aston Villa Ladies 2
Hannah George 31, Katie Wilkinson 45
Yeovil Town Ladies (3-5-2): Charlotte Haynes; Kayleigh Green, Hannah Short, Nicola Cousins; Helen Bleazard, Stephanie Williams, Ellie Curson, Nadia Lawrence, Kelly Snook; Sarah Wiltshire, Annie Heatherson
Substitutes: Jessie Jones for Williams 32, Ellis Hillman for Snook 79, Emily Donovan for Lawrence 86
Substitutes not used: Lauren Townsend, Charlotte Johnson, Sammy Quayle, Natasha Knapman,
Bookings: Kayleigh Green (40)
Red Cards:
Aston Villa Ladies (4-2-3-1): Jess Myers; Maddy Cusack, Elisha N’Dow, Chloe Jones, Hannah George; Kerri Welsh, Katy Moran; Mollie Rouse, Bethan Merrick, Amy West; Katie Wilkinson
Substitutes: Sarah Mayling for Welsh 60, Hayley Crackle for West 74,
Substitutes not used: Chloe Beattie, Destiney Toussaint, Natasha Baptiste, Leanne Bryant, Chloe Harper
Bookings:
Red Cards:
Referee: Joanna Stimpson
Attendance: 711
