Aston Villa fought back from a goal down to beat Leicester City 2-1 at King Power Stadium and leave the hosts deep in relegation trouble in the Women's Super League.

Forward Kirsty Hanson's low drive squirmed through the legs of goalkeeper Janina Leitzig at the near post after 84 minutes to complete the turnaround after Anna Patten had levelled the arrears with a near-post flick two minutes into the second half.

"It's a big one," Villa manager Natalia Arroyo told BBC Two. "We weren't 100% in the first half.

"We found an important goal straight after starting the second half and built the momentum. We increased the tempo and speed of play.

"These are the type of games we need to win, to grow, to show character."

It was a heartbreaking end for Leicester who had taken a first-half lead through former Villan Alisha Lehmann, who strode on to Hannah Cain's cutback to score her first goal for the club on 37 minutes.

However the visitors were much improved after the interval, with plenty of chances to take the spoils before Hanson's late winner.

Republic of Ireland defender Patten almost claimed another goal from a corner, yet she glanced her header over the upright after another clever near-post dart.

The three points moves Aston Villa up to eighth in the table, and continues their recent upturn in form following their point against leaders Manchester City last week.

Meanwhile, defeat for Leicester leaves them three points adrift at the foot of the table.

After holding runaway league leaders Manchester City to a draw last time out Aston Villa came into the contest as heavy favourites, yet it took a long time for them to get going against relegation strugglers Leicester City.

The half-time introduction of winger Ebony Salmon proved vital. The England international caused a headache for the Leicester defence, crucially diverting their attentions away from Hanson, before providing the assist for the winning goal.

Scotland winger Hanson had been kept quiet aside from hitting the side-netting on 36 minutes, but got just rewards for her persistence.

"I was really frustrated but in my head I was thinking 'it's coming Kirsty, it's coming, you just have to keep going'," she told BBC Two afterwards. "I took my chance and I'm happy that hard work pays off."

Villa's overall intensity shift after the break proved tough for the Foxes to handle. The 2-1 scoreline could easily have been three or four had Patten or Oriane Jean-Francois been more precise in their finishing.

But it is another step in the right direction after a horrid start to the new year.

Foxes boss Rick Passmoor will take positives away, particularly from their first-half performance where they were by far the better team.

He told BBC Two post-match: "We are not going to go away, we're not turning our back in this challenge and this fight."

They deservedly went into the break 1-0 up courtesy of Lehmann's calm finish, however their lack of firepower came back to haunt them once again.

Seventeen matches into the campaign and still the Foxes are yet to score more than a single goal in a game. At this level that rarely proves enough.

Passmoor added: "The weight and the will is there, the togetherness is there, the culture is there. We just need to make sure technically we are making the right decisions at the right time."

Nearest rivals West Ham remain in reach, but with six losses in their past seven games and just nine goals scored all season, survival still feels a very long shot for the Foxes.

Aston Villa are back in action next Sunday as they head to the capital to face Chelsea (12:00 BST) in the Women's Super League, while Leicester host Brighton in league action later that afternoon at King Power Stadium (15:00).

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