Chelsea v Aston Villa
Chelsea held to draw by Aston Villa in their first WSL game of the season
Aston Villa's third-choice goalkeeper Akane Okuma enjoyed a debut to remember as a wasteful Chelsea paid the price for their profligacy by conceding a late equaliser in their Barclays Women's Super League opener.
Despite taking an early lead through Lauren James and dominating throughout, the six-time champions - at their new permanent Stamford Bridge home this year -- failed to take advantage.
The 21-year-old Okuma, starting in the absence of the more experienced Ellie Roebuck and Emily Ramsey, made nine saves but Chelsea's inability to properly test her proved costly as Villa's 1-1 draw earned them a first point against Chelsea after losing the first 12 meetings.
It looked like being a long afternoon for the visitors after James struck in the 11th minute when Lucy Parker's misjudged pass gave away possession.
James produced a couple of stepovers which created enough space for her to lash home left-footed inside Okuma's right-hand post.
But there followed a succession of poor finishing - they had 18 shots in the first half, 16 in the second - and Ellie Carpenter should have made it 2-0 but placed her shot too close to the goalkeeper, while Keira Walsh's effort from the edge of the area rebounded off the underside of the crossbar.
Inevitably, it cost them as a collective failure to clear the ball by Chelsea's defence saw Noelle Maritz's shot bounce back off goalkeeper Hannah Hampton and rebound in off team-mate Veerle Buurman.
Okuma's best save came in the 90th minute when she somehow managed to deflect James' close-range shot over the crossbar with an outstretched shin.