VEATRIKI SARRI heaped injury-time misery on Aston Villa as Birmingham nabbed a 1-1 draw in the dying minutes of a tetchy Midlands derby.
The WSL ace sparked scenes of wild celebration with a jubilant Carla Ward hugging her players after they snatched a vital point in their bid to beat the drop.
Just as it looked as if ex-Brum starlet Freya Gregory’s goal had given Villa’s top flight survival dreams a boost, super sub Sarri came on to spoil the visitors’ party.
Birmingham’s 1-1 home draw means they leapfrog West Ham to go ninth in the table ahead of a tricky trip to Manchester City.
Ward said: “Villa were the better team for large parts but the fact that we find a way tells you that this group has got character, desire, it’s got everything you need.
“I said at the start of the season – and I said it all year – that no one gives us a chance. But these players do. I do. The staff do.
“Honestly, I love working with them because they just don’t give up. They don’t want to roll over. Hence my knee slide to join in with them at the end!
“I think we’re there in terms of safety. West Ham have got to play Villa at the weekend. If they both get a point, they both stay below us.
“If one wins, the other one stays below us. Whichever one loses then has to beat Manchester City or Arsenal, so I think we’re there, barring an absolute miracle.”
Villa, who were beaten 1-0 in the last league exchange between the sides, looked to dominate the possession from the get go.
They attempted to take the lead as early as the fourth minute with Chloe Arthur’s free-kick flying wide of Hannah Hampton’s goal.
And they went close to scoring in the 11th minute with Mana Iwabuchi attempting to curl a right-footed shot into the far corner.
Moments later Birmingham suffered a minor scare with Hampton missing the chance to claim Anita Asante’s chipped free-kick.
But following a scramble in the box, the hosts managed to hoof the ball out of danger.
Bignot’s players’ attacking efforts did not go unrewarded for too long with Gregory returning to haunt her old side.
And she put them ahead with a thumping strike for her first senior goal in a Villa shirt.
Following a Birmingham corner, the visitors countered with the ball dropping to Iwabuchi who released Shania Hayles who squared it to Gregory
And the Villa starlet saw her initial shot crash off the underside of the crossbar before smashing the ball into the goal with venom minutes before the half-hour mark.
The second period saw Birmingham attempt to fight their way back into the game, but having little joy in the final third.
Sub Emily Murphy, on loan from Chelsea, saw her strike from distance fly past Lisa Weiss’s far post close to the 60th minute.
Ward, who lost Ruesha Littlejohn to injury in the first half, made her final roll of the dice bringing on Sarri in place of Blues defender Emma kelly
The switch came minutes after the forthright Birmingham boss was given a yellow card for her response to a decision given in Villa’s favour
It was a substitution that worked wonders, with Sarri’s free-kick flying into Weiss’ goal through a huddle of players to seal a score draw.
And the result combined with the Hammers’ 2-0 loss to Arsenal means just THREE points separate the bottom four sides in the Women’s Super League.
It could see the fight to remain in the top flight go down to the wire with Villa due to take on Olli Harder’s Irons next.
Bignot said: “I appreciate Carla’s words and I would echo them.
“We were the better team. We deserved the three points but we haven’t got them.
“It was disappointing in terms of the manner in which we didn’t get those three points.
“We learned lessons from the Bristol game in terms of how we conceded – we were very deep – but this one was taken away from us. It’s a hard one to take.
“Credit to Birmingham for taking advantage.”
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Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
