Aston Villa goalkeeper Hannah Hampton defies orders to stay away
England goalkeeper Hannah Hampton was dropped by Aston Villa for Sunday’s defeat to Chelsea but defied team orders to stay away from the game.
Hampton, 21, was not on the team sheet despite being confirmed as fit earlier in the week. Villa manager Carla Ward confirmed that she had made the decision to "leave her at home". In an apparent show of defiance of that decision, Hampton travelled down to London anyway, separate from the squad.
She posted a photo on her Instagram from the stands in Kingsmeadow, with the caption "let's go team" and a lion emoji in reference to the Villa mascot. "Hannah was available," Ward said post-match. "Something happened yesterday and we decided it was in the best interests of the team for her to stay at home so I did exactly that. That’s all I really want to say on the matter."
When asked if the decision was taken as disciplinary action, Ward said: “I made the decision in the best interest of the team to leave her home and I left her home. I would probably prefer to talk about the 11 who were here.”
Hampton’s representative declined to comment when contacted by Telegraph Sport. Hampton, who was part of the Lionesses squad that won the Euros in July, has been unavailable for the past few weeks through an unspecified injury.
She was also left out of both of Sarina Wiegman's two England squads since the Euros, for national team camps in September and October respectively.
The last time Hampton featured on a team sheet for Villa was on October 1, for a league cup fixture against Manchester United where she remained on the bench as an unused substitute. The last time she played was on September 25, in Villa's league win at Leicester City.
New Zealand goalkeeper Anna Leat has been playing in her place and on Friday Ward was prickly when asked whether Hampton was likely to return at the weekend: "Anna Leat has done exceptionally well. There’s been a lot of talk about ’Is Hannah back? Is Hannah back?’ and I think it’s highly disrespectful to the quality of Anna Leat and how well she’s played. "Now what we have is two exceptional keepers, two keepers who are pushing each other every day and two keepers we can rely on. It’s a good position to be in. They’ll have to fight it out."
Hayes enjoys impressive James display as she continues recovery
By Molly McElwee
Lauren James's two-goal and assist masterclass in Chelsea's win over Aston Villa had recovering manager Emma Hayes up on her feet in the Kingsmeadow stands on Sunday.
James has long been hailed as one of England's most treasured young talents and, since her signing from Manchester United to Chelsea 15 months ago, has been managed by Hayes with great caution due to a series of injuries.
It means these two goals were only her second and third for the club, but the freer rein on her this season helped her unleash her most impressive performance in a Chelsea shirt in Sunday's 3-1 victory.
It kept the Women's Super League champions clipping at Manchester United and Arsenal's heels, as they continue to chase the league top spot.
General manager Paul Green was at the helm for Chelsea again, as Hayes continues her recovery from an emergency hysterectomy in early October. But whereas Hayes had previously been communicating with the coaching team via headset from home, she was well enough to take in her team's second-half demolition job in person on Sunday.
She beamed like a proud fan in the stands as she witnessed James come into her own, and nipped into the changing room at half-time to give players some pointers.
“I think it’s been some time coming to get on the scoresheet," James, 21, said post-match. "It was a great feeling. The main thing is I wanted to help the team. But It’s kind of a weight off my shoulders [to get the goals]. It’s also amazing to have Emma back. She’s not on the bench but to have her around is nice and she’s starting to feel better."
When James gets into gear with the ball at her feet, she can look unstoppable. Aston Villa manager Carla Ward said post-match that she was "unplayable at times", her quick-stepping with the ball glued to her feet and body weaving as she careered through impossible gaps between defenders.
Both of her goals showed the quality of her first touch. The opener came within 22 minutes, when she flew into the box, side-footing the ball away from her defender and sneaking a left-footed shot past the Villa goalkeeper Anna Leat.
For her second, immediately after halftime, James sped past team-mate Pernille Harder on the break, down the right wing. Harder offloaded the ball to her and, with a deft touch, James put the ball and herself beyond defender Mayumi Pacheco’s reach before firing with her right foot into goal.
James's strike cancelled out Villa's Rachel Daly's first-half equaliser - her fourth goal in five league games, and the first Chelsea have conceded from open play all season. Though the visitors had kept pace for the first half, the 47th minute goal from James sent Chelsea well on their way to dominate the second period. Just after the hour James assisted Sam Kerr for a straightforward tap in which ended any hopes of a Villa revival.
Match details
Chelsea (4-4-2): Berger; Perisset (Carter 87), Bright, Buchanan, Eriksson; James (Rytting Kaneryd 66), Ingle, Cuthbert, Reiten (Charles 77); Kerr (England 77), Harder (Fleming 66).
Subs not used: Musovic, Nouwen, Svitkova, Abdullina.
Aston Villa (4-3-3): Leat; Mayling, Patten, Turner, Pacheco; Blindkilde (Harding 52), Corsie (McLoughlin 81), Dali; Lehmann, Daly, Hanson.
Subs not used: Draper, Gregory, Goodwin.
Booked: Blindkilde.
Referee: Martin Woods.
Attendance: 4,373.
