Match report: Liverpool come back to beat Aston Villa 4-1 in Subway Players Cup

Ex-Red Missy Bo Kearns opened the scoring early on at St Helens Stadium and Marie Höbinger produced an equaliser in the first half.

Both sides spurned opportunities to get in front until substitute Cornelia Kapocs supplied a touch of quality with a curling finish.

And Beata Olsson glossed the result further in the final minutes with a quickfire double via a header and close-range strike.

Gareth Taylor’s team therefore increased their points tally in the league stage to nine from four fixtures.

Liverpool created the evening’s first chance – and it was a good one as Alice Bergstrom won possession in the Villa half and fed the ball to Höbinger.

The latter’s cross from the right channel found Mao Itamura, who had time and space inside the area but miscued the finish and shot wide.

Almost immediately in the other direction, a similarly structured move led to the visitors taking the lead instead.

Mia McAulay and Lily Murphy combined down the flank to serve the ball to Kearns across the box, and the former Reds midfielder found the net with a bobbled strike.

Twice Liverpool could have responded quickly, with first an excellent low delivery from Bergstrom just evading a touch by Mia Enderby or Itamura.

Then a fine Enderby touch turned Maizie Trueman’s forward pass into a one-on-one; the No.13’s effort lacked power, though, and was saved.

Reds goalkeeper Faye Kirby made an important stop to deny Kearns a second as Villa cut through on the counter-attack.

But the feeling that the home team were more likely to score next was borne out with half an hour on the clock.

A neat passing exchange freed Lucy Parry into the Villa area and when her pull-back was only partially cleared, Höbinger pounced with a crisp and clinical hit into the left corner.

Villa might have regained the advantage as Georgia Mullett intercepted a Bergstrom back-pass and rounded Kirby, but her roll towards goal missed.

A flurry of chances came and went early in the second half.

Murphy curled not too far wide of the right post after cutting in from the left, before Enderby’s drive bounced off the goalframe.

McAulay was minimally off target with a shot from the ‘D’ having burst forward from her own half and the same player was then denied only through an outstanding Sara Agrez block tackle.

On the hour, Akane Okuma in the Villa net had to glove over the crossbar a strong, curling free-kick from Höbinger all of 25 yards out.

Olsson – a replacement for Enderby due to an injury – clipped off target from a threaded pass in behind by fellow substitute Kirsty Maclean.

A lovely strike sent Liverpool into the lead in minute 78, though.

Villa’s appeals for a foul as they looked to clear their lines were waved away and having received the ball at the edge of the box, Kapocs dispatched a precise finish inside the right post.

The Reds extended that lead via Olsson as she deftly guided a header over the ’keeper from Lily Woodham’s looping free-kick.

And the Swede then seized on a failure to clear another delivery into the area to slot a low effort home for her second and Liverpool’s fourth.

Team

Liverpool: Kirby, Parry (Ward, 67), Shaw, Agrez, Woodham, Nagano (Maclean, 46), Höbinger, Trueman, Bergstrom (Endemann, 67), Itamura (Kapocs, 46), Enderby (Olsson, 56).

Unused subs: Laws, Fisk, Ramos, Clark.

Next up

Liverpool travel to Brighton & Hove Albion in the Barclays Women’s Super League on Saturday (November 14).

Kick-off at Amex Stadium is 5.15pm GMT – view ticket and travel details here.