Gemma Shepherd hits three in Charlton fight back

Charlton Athletic continued their unbeaten start to The FA Women's Premier League season with an emphatic 4-1 victory over C&K Basildon. 

Gemma Shepherd’s hat-trick at Sporting Club Thamesmead on Sunday helped underlined the Addicks' title credentials.

Charlton were on top for large parts of the clash, but could not find the back of the net early on, with Shepherd guilty of missing three one-on-one chances.

The striker then set up a great opportunity for defender Sam Pittuck, but her effort rattled the crossbar, before Basildon took the lead against the run of play.

The ball was rolled across to Hannah Porter at the edge of the area and with no-one closing her down, she duly slammed into the far corner.

However, they were only ahead for six minutes as Shepherd capitalised on a poor back-pass to restore parity shortly before half time.

Basildon were close to retaking the lead shortly after but Megen Lynch pushed a 35-yard Maegen Doyle effort over. Charlton then went ahead for the first time early in the second period when Kit Graham surged down the left wing before squaring for Nikita Whinnett to slam home from close-range.

Charlton were foiled twice by the crossbar in quick succession, and it was down to Shepherd to end the contest with two late goals, both coming from defensive errors.

Elsewhere, the division’s top two sides met the two teams at the bottom, with neither Plymouth Argyle nor Queens Park Rangers able to upset the odds against Brighton and Hove Albion and Cardiff City.

Charlotte Gurr did the business for league leaders Brighton, slamming home a hat-trick, while Deanna Cooper added another in a 4-0 victory.

Albion are still yet to concede a goal in their six games this season, and sit top the table by a single point from Cardiff and Portsmouth. 

QPR were left ruing their luck against Cardiff, as a disallowed goal cost them when second-half strikes from Michelle Green and Kelly Aldridge secured victory for City.

Rangers – playing their first home game of the season – edged an entertaining first half at Honeycroft, but fell behind to Green’s header shortly after the restart.

Elly Maggs looked to have levelled the scores only for her header from Sophie Fogarty’s teasing cross to be ruled out - the linesman deeming the ball to have already strayed out of play by the finest of margins.

And the R’s misery was complete when Aldridge doubled City’s lead 17 minutes from time, and they remain without a point this season.

Portsmouth kept up the pressure at the top of the table with a 2-0 win at Lewes, maintaining their 100 per cent win record with a game in hand on those above them.

Leeta Rutherford and Charley Wilson scored either side of half-time as the Rooks toiled. 

Meanwhile, Tottenham Hotspur edged out Forest Green Rovers at home, with two goals in two first-half minutes from Wendy Martin and Sophie McClean earning them a 2-1 victory.

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