Natalia Arroyo and Aston Villa Women managed to grab a point at Broadfield Stadium through a 0-0 draw against Brighton. By and large, a point was fair on the afternoon.
While Brighton managed to have more of the possession and more shots, Villa managed to equal the opportunities on target and were somewhat unlucky to have an earlier effort from Rachel Daly and a late set piece from Lynn Wilms go off the woodwork.
The type of defending and willingness to put the body on the line is ultimately what frustrated Brighton and made it so that the hosts were not quite able to generate a higher-quality chance even when the ball was in Villa's half.
In terms of the Villa attack, it is still early in the season. A couple of miscues and not quite being on the same page resulted in moments that stalled attacks. Still, it is known how much quality this Arroyo side has, and they managed to have some good combinations in the final third.
Players like Lucy Staniforth and Gabi Nunes missed the match due to injury. A positive of this fixture was the steady play and contributions of some of the new signings and younger players on the squad. After a successful end of the last campaign, the new-look Villa side already looks organized. It will just be a question of a little more time together before the goals start to pour in.
Important Aston Villa Women keeper situation to monitor
An important development was that of Sabrina D'Angelo. After a collision, the keeper was forced to leave the scene at half. This led to the Villa debut and official WSL return of Ellie Roebuck. While details of the Canada international are not known in terms of the potential long-term implications of a potential setback, Villa have someone they can trust in goal in the event that D'Angelo requires a little more time to recover from the opening match.