Fylde continued to keep their pace atop the FA Women’s Premier League Northern Division as a 5-1 win at Newcastle United maintained their 100 per cent start to the season.
The visitors raced into a 3-0 lead by the 18-minute mark, with Eve Kennerley’s audacious 30-yard lob following up goals from Danielle Young and Natasha Flint as Newcastle were stunned in the opening stages.
But the hosts pulled one back moments after half-time with Jess Round’s curler giving them a sniff, but late goals from Mollie Green and a second for Young put gloss on the result, giving the Coasters a fourth win on the spin on the day Mollie Green signed on a temporary loan deal from Liverpool.
FA Women's Premier League
Northern & Southern Divisions
Sunday 25 September 2016
By Ross Lawson
Elsewhere in the Northern Division, the form table was reversed as West Bromwich Albion picked up their first win of the season following four successive defeats, compounding Derby County to a first defeat in the process.
County had held a 100 per cent record, but a well-worked free-kick finished off by Paige Stewart got the visitors off and running, with substitute Hazzana Parnell’s long-range effort sealing the win just ten minutes after coming on.
Bradford City recovered from last week’s 4-0 defeat by Blackburn Rovers with a goal-fest of their own, scoring five against Stoke City to leapfrog the Potters in the table.
Charlotte Stuart got the scoring underway, but it was not until the second half when the hosts got properly going, with Stuart adding a second of her own while Lucy Sowerby also scored a double for a second win of the season.
The weekend also saw Northern Division sides in FA WPL Cup action, with Blackburn Rovers overcoming Nottingham Forest 3-1, while Huddersfield Town got the better of Sporting Khalsa 6-1.
Meanwhile in the South Division, Coventry United shocked Charlton Athletic 5-1 away from home to leapfrog them up to second in the table.
The Addicks got off to the perfect start however when Kit Graham fired them into the lead on ten minutes, pouncing on a misplaced defensive pass before beating a defender and finishing emphatically.
But that did not last long and a bit of magic from Maz Gauntlett saw her lob in the first goal of a sublime hat-trick six minutes later.
Alison Hall put the visitors ahead from a corner, before two more from Gauntlett after the interval put the game beyond an out-of-sorts Charlton.
And Hall added a shine to the win with her second of the game on the back post four minutes from time.
Elsewhere Cardiff City went above C & K Basildon into fifth as they won 2-1 at home, and West Ham United needed penalties to see off Swindon Town in the FA WPL Plate.
After Charlotte Gurr had opened the scoring for the Hammers, Swindon looked to be heading through as Georgia Walters bagged a double.
But after Chloe Burr’s unstoppable last-gasp equaliser, it came down to Sasha Kelly to slot home the winning penalty and send West Ham through.
