There were goals galore in the FA Women’s Premier League, with a feast of strikes and dramatic comebacks providing another enthralling afternoon of action.
Northern Division
A superb late flurry from Bradford secured a dramatic 4-1 over Wolverhampton Wands.
Trailing 1-0 with little over ten minutes to go, Ellie White, Charlotte Stuart and Abi Lee (2) all found the net in the closing stages to send the home faithful away happy.
Stoke City followed up their cup success against Morecambe with a classy display against Midlands rivals West Bromwich Albion. Hannah Keryakoplis bagged a brace, while there were also goals from Ash Hayes, Lou Roberts and Tash Tezgel.
Blackburn Rovers held off Huddersfield 2-1, while Middlesbrough defeated Leicester by the same scoreline.
Elsewhere, Lauren Davies and skipper Danielle Young struck to hand Fylde a 2-0 win over Guiseley Vixens, while in the East Midlands derby, Hazzana Parnell netted on the hour as Nottingham Forest beat Derby County.
Southern Division
The prolific Gemma Bryan was at it again for Crystal Palace, scoring five times in another big win, this time a 7-0 victory over Swindon. Stefanie Simmons also bagged a brace.
Another seven-goal thriller came in the form of Chichester City’s 5-2 triumph over Cardiff City, with all the action coming in a breathless first half.
C & K Basildon scored three second half goals to down West Ham, while a Jenny Newman brace helped Gillingham to a 4-0 win at Queens Park Rangers.
Lewes edged out Coventry United 1-0, while Kit Graham scored the only goal of the game deep into stoppage time as Charlton Athletic defeated Portsmouth.
Game of the week
Despite Palace’s goal glut at Swindon and Bradford’s comeback against Wolves, game of the week has to be the enthralling affair in south Wales between Cardiff and Chichester.
All seven goals came in a captivating opening period, and Chichester showed tremendous attacking flair to go into next’s week’s clash with West Ham full of confidence.
Goal of the week
Abi Lee’s dipping 25-yard free-kick flew into the back of the net as she claimed the first of her two strikes of the afternoon, and Bradford’s third.
Her side's fourth came in the final minute of stoppage time, smashing the ball home with aplomb to round off a memorable comeback.
Manager of the week
Despite Bradford looking dead and buried, Steve Winterburn saw his side find an inner belief that saw them roar back against Wolves.
Winterburn and his players will no doubt take heart going forward of the level of character and clinical finishing shown in the latter stages in West Yorkshire.
Player of the week
Gemma Bryan’s five goals for Crystal Palace against Swindon shows a striker in the form of her life.
Incredibly, it is not the first time she has scored five in a game this season – she helped herself to a quintet of strikes in Palace’s 9-0 demolition of QPR last month.
