In perfect form - LFC Women beat Aston Villa in pre-season friendly

LFC Women defeated Aston Villa. An early goal from Leanne Kiernan led Liverpool FC Women to a 1-0 win over Aston Villa in a pre-season friendly at the Bodymoor Heath training ground on Wednesday.

The Irish striker struck with a left-footed finish in the second minute, but Matt Beard's side enjoyed another valuable 90 minutes in the legs in the build-up to the Barclays Women's Super League campaign. Carla Humphrey started the action with a fine curling shot, which home goalkeeper Anna Leat could only turn behind for a corner.

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Villa were unable to clear Megan Campbell's first delivery and when Missy Bo Kearns sent in the second from the other side, Kiernan ran onto the loose ball to score the opener. Set-pieces continued to be a profitable source of chances for the visitors and another Campbell corner was headed over the top by Rachel Furness.

The hosts' first dangerous chance came courtesy of Freya Gregory, but her shot never looked like beating Rachael Laws and went wide of the post. Furness continued to be a threat in the Villa box, heading another dangerous Kearns corner over the top of the crossbar after 20 minutes.

Second half

In the second half, clear-cut chances were even more plentiful, with both teams struggling to plug the gaps. The best chance for the home side came with a free kick from the industrious Dali, but Chantelle Boye-Hlorkah headed wide. For LFC Women, the best chance to extend their lead came through Melissa Lawley who sent Emma Koivisto through on the right with a lovely pass and the Finnish defender's cross was headed in by Katie Stengel.

Villa's hopes of an equaliser were ended by a superb block from Rhiannon Roberts, who denied Boye-Hlorkah to secure another pre-season win for Beard's side, who now face West Ham United at Loughborough on Sunday.