A valiant effort in the second half was not enough to see West Ham United Women avoid a 1-2 home defeat at the hands of Aston Villa Women.
Vivianne Asseyi hit the post for the Irons before Amalie Thestrup saw a close-range effort denied by Hannah Hampton, before the away side took the lead in Sunday's Barclays Women's Super League match
Former Hammer Rachel Daly was the goalscorer on 34 minutes, latching onto a Grace Fisk error to fire a strike past Mackenzie Arnold from distance.
Villa added a second after the hour mark when Jordan Nobbs was in the right place to turn home Kirsty Hanson's cut-back, given the hosts a mountain to climb in the final 30 minutes.
Asseyi thought she had halved the deficit on 77 minutes but, much like Daly's close-ranged finish moments before, her attempt was ruled out for offside.
However, the French international was in the right place to head in Dagný Brynjarsdóttir's cross to ensure a thrilling final ten minutes.
The Irons went close through Grace Fisk and captain Brynjarsdóttir, but were unable to find the crucial, equalising goal.
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