Aston Villa beat Birmingham in WSL derby

Women's Super League Aston Villa 1 - 0 Birmingham City FT Aston Villa have 13 points from 10 WSL matches, with Birmingham on six points [Getty Images] Mathilde Harviken scored the only goal as Aston Villa beat Birmingham City in their first Women's Super League derby since May 2022. Harviken headed in from close range in the 76th minute after Lynn Wilms headed the ball across goal - with Birmingham saying there should have been an offside. Birmingham were a player short at the time as defender Neve Herron was off the pitch getting treatment for a nosebleed. Villa will feel they should have gone ahead in the first half when they put the ball in the net, only for it to be ruled out. Noelle Maritz floated a ball in from deep on the left and Oceane Deslandes got a slight touch on a header when challenging goalkeeper Sophie Baggaley. There was no foul on the goalkeeper but the goal was ruled out for offside, although replays showed this was the wrong decision and the goal should have stood. But Birmingham were also left frustrated after a poor decision by the match officials when it was goalless. They should have been awarded a penalty when Lucy Parker slid in and caught the foot of Oceane Hurtre, but only received a corner. Birmingham were the better side early in the second half with substitute Wilma Leidhammar forcing a fine save from home goalkeeper Akane Okuma. Shannon Cooke also tried her luck from 45 yards out, with the ball ending up on the roof of the net. Villa ended the game with 10 players as Deslandes was sent off after being booked twice in the space of 47 seconds in injury time. But the hosts held on, with Okuma making a vital double save, to claim only their third WSL victory of the season to move up to seventh, while Birmingham remain 13th. This was the first WSL match between the two sides since the final match of the 2021-22 season, when already-relegated Birmingham won 1-0 at Villa Park. How Aston Villa are reclaiming their identity WSL: Asseyi scores stunning free-kick for West Ham v Charlton, Villa lead against Birmingham Find interviews and extra content on the BBC Women's Football Weekly feed