Aston Villa and Liverpool played out a thrilling 3-3 draw at Villa Park on Sunday afternoon.

Kirsty Hanson had given Villa the lead, before goals from Katie Stengel and Natasha Dowie had Liverpool in front with five minutes remaining of the first half.

Rachel Daly notched her goal tally up further by equalising on the stroke of halftime for the hosts before Stengel got her second on the hour mark.

The scoring wasn’t done there however, as Hanson’s brilliant solo finish meant it was a six-goal thriller.

The point guarantees Villa a fifth-place finish in the WSL, while Liverpool stay in seventh place.

  • Story of the Game

After trouncing Reading in their last outing, Villa picked up where they left off and took the lead early on in the contest.

Lucy Staniforth lost the ball in the Liverpool box, but Manchester United loanee Kirsty Hanson picked up the ball. Hanson jinked and weaved her way past three Reds defenders, before firing her effort into the far corner.

Although they were behind, Liverpool responded well.

A long ball pumped forward was chased down by Natasha Dowie who attempted a curling effort from range, but Hannah Hampton was equal to it.

A minute later, Hampton was called into action once more, and this time showed why she is such a quality goalkeeper.

Missy Bo Kearns tried to lob Hampton, who was off her line, but the England international raced back and clawed her ambitious attempt off the line.

After a period of pressure, the Villains looked to double their lead. Hanson burst into the box and sent a low cross into the path of Rachel Daly, but her delicate effort was cleared off the line.

Just as it looked like Villa would hold out until the break, Liverpool found their equaliser. Emma Koivisto made good progress down the wing and her cross found Taylor Hinds.

The captain headed her effort into the ground, but the ball somehow looped over several Villa defenders and into the path of Katie Stengel, who swiveled round and nodded her effort into the net.

With confidence high, Matt Beard’s side set off to find their second, and they shocked the Villa crowd by getting one three minutes after their equaliser.

Koivisto once again with good work down the wing, and her cross bobbled round in the box, before the ball broke for Natasha Dowie, who rifled her effort into the roof of the net.

Over 7,000 fans made it to Villa Park for this tie, and the majority of them were relieved when Villa found their second in first-half added time.

Daly played the ball out to Simone Magill, before running into the box to collect the pass of the Northern Ireland international and placing her side-footed effort past Faye Kirby. Goal number 21 for Daly.

It was a topsy-turvy first half, but both sides went into the break on level terms.

  • Second Half

After a hive of activity in the first half, the opening of the second half was fairly mundane, with neither able to take the initiative.

That was until, for the second time in the game, Liverpool took the lead.

Substitute Shanice van de Sanden sent in a howitzer of a cross into the box, and Stengel stretched every sinew in her neck to get the slightest of glances on the cross and head past a hapless Hampton.

Villa almost responded immediately as Daly got a head on Staniforth’s corner, but she could only see her effort graze the crossbar.

The Villains need not fear, as they did once again get themselves level in the contest.

Hanson dribbled in from the far side and leaped over tackle after tackle, before taking aim from distance and firing past Kirby. The Liverpool youngster should and could have done a lot better with her attempted save.

With the game in the balance, Villa looked to build on their equaliser, but couldn’t force the Liverpool defence into a mistake.

The Reds were waiting to hit on the counter, but they were lacking that final pass or that final touch to force Hampton into action.

Van de Sanden almost scored a spectacular goal to seal all three points, but Hampton flew like Wonder Woman to make a tremendous save.

Both sides have had a great season, and perhaps a 3-3 draw was the appropriate result on the day.

It’s going to be so interesting to see what happens to Hanson next season.

She’s been in awe-inspiring form recently, and we saw two different sides to her in both of her goals. One full of grit and power, the other full of skill and precision.

Will Marc Skinner have a role for her next season? Who knows, but Carla Ward will be hoping Villa can keep a hold of her.