Aston Villa’s 9-0 win to start off their 2025

Photo Credit: Aston Villa FC

Aston Villa didn’t take long to find the net in last night’s FA Cup match. With nine goals scored overall, both halves were filled with excitement.  

Many of the other fourth round ties were postponed due to frozen pitches caused by the minus temperatures sweeping through England, but with this one going ahead, Aston Villa played against National League Division One South West side Bristol Rovers and booked their place in the next round with a 9-0 victory.  

Game Play 

Aston Villa started the game with an unexpected lineup, starting D’Angelo in goal and Nobbs and Daly running the midfield. The bench was also packed with Kirsty Hanson and new signing Chasity Grant eagerly awaiting their introductions to the match.  

Bristol Rovers, however, put out the 11 that works for them in the league, but potentially not the best 11 to be facing a WSL team with. Most of their subs throughout the game were with attack in mind, had they started the game with more than just Meg Jarvis upfront, they may have been stronger going forward.  

First Half 

Inside the first 10 minutes of the game, Villa were already 3-0 up, Rachel Daly had herself a brace and Gabi Nunes opened her scoring account for the night. 

Whilst Villa were already ahead, the game itself looked rather scrappy, Villa looked a little frantic and seemed to be in a rush to get the ball forward. After the first 15 minutes, Rovers looked to be getting into the game a little more, their defence working harder to keep the ball away from their goal.  

After 15 minutes without a goal and five missed attempts, Paula Tomás added another to the score line making it 4-0 and just a couple minutes later it was 5-0 when Gabi Nunes found the back of the net once again, now on a brace, she would be looking to finish the game with a hat-trick.  

The rest of the half consisted of blocked or saved attempts for the Villans, as well as a hattrick of offside goals for Rachel Daly all within quick succession. 

Second Half 

The second half started with a quadruple change for the Villans, Sabrina D’Angelo, Adriana Leon, Ebony Salmon, and Rachel Daly exited the pitch and made way for Sophia Poor, Chasity Grant, Kirsty Hanson and Jill Baijings. The Gas Girls didn’t make any subs and instead returned to the pitch looking stronger than they did in the first half.  

Chasity Grant made immediate impact for the home side, getting herself onto the scoresheet in the 46th minute, bringing the score line up to 6-0. Six minutes later Bristol Rovers’ had their first chance of the game which came from Meg Jarvis in the 52nd minute, but 18-year-old keeper Sophia Poor was quick to make the save in the top centre of the goal. The 56th minute once again proved Villa's substitutions to be crucial as Kirsty Hanson also found the back of the net from close range.  

At 58 minutes, Gas Girls manager, Nathan Hallett-Young, made his first subs of the evening, Poppy Warren and Charlotte Buxton made way for Emily Bayliss and Annys Turner. Gabi Nunes added to her tally for the night, getting herself a hat-trick in the 65th minute. Another substitution was made for each team, Anna Patten made way for Noëlle Maritz and Nia Rees was replaced by Emison Evans for the visitors. 

In the 73rd minute, the Gas Girls had their final chance of the game, Evans took her chances, sending the ball goal-wards from the left side of the box but her attempt was saved in the centre of the goal.  

At 80 minutes, Jill Baijings scored Villas last goal of the game. This match was Baijings debut match after being out with an injury since her signing in July 2024. For the final 10 minutes of the game, the visitors subbed off Exley and Ackerman for Connie Short and Abi Todd, aiming to add to their attack with fresh legs.  

Stats 

The Villans led 72% to 28% in ball possession with only 15 of their 40 shots on target. Rovers had a total of two shots, both of which were on target. The match saw eight corners be taken, seven belonging to the home side, the visitors only being awarded one. Nine fouls were committed across the two sides, Rovers committing four, one resulting in a yellow card for Emily Bayliss, and five for the Villans.  

The game got 2025 off to the right start for Aston Villa, but for the Gas Girls, ended their 10-game unbeaten run. Aston Villa will be looking to bring the encouraging start back to the WSL for the second half of the season to try and move back up the table into a more convincing position. Rovers on the other hand, will turn their attention back to the league and continue pushing for promotion once again. 

The draw for the next round will take place on Monday 13th January at 6:30pm GMT on Adobe Women’s FA Cup YouTube channel.