With bucket-loads of goals in both the Northern and Southern Divisions of the FA Women’s Premier League this weekend, there was plenty of action all over the country.
Leicester went back into the top two with a fantastic win, while there were no position changes in the South.
Here’s a round-up of all the action from an enthralling weekend in the FA WPL.
NORTHERN DIVISIONLeicester continued their prolific form by putting four goals past Guiseley Vixens and moving them back into second place in the table.
Leigh Dugmore and Rosie Axten both netted twice to seal victory for the hosts, who have only been defeated once in the last six matches now.
Dugmore scored the only goal of the first half with a delightful dink over the Vixens keeper after latching onto a through-ball.
Axten added Leicester’s second after half-time, beating numerous defenders down the left and slotting it home.
The hosts then got their third as Dugmore was again played in behind the Vixens defence and she finished with great composure, before Axten got her second to make it 4-0 and send the Foxes up to second in the table.
In another dramatic game, Bradford ramped up the intensity to beat West Brom 4-2 at home and move up to seventh, with Hannah Campbell netting a hat-trick including two in two minutes.
There were even more goals in Fylde’s match with Nottingham Forest, including three in three minutes between the two teams and a late Fylde score to make it 4-3.
Elsewhere, Blackburn held Wolves to a 1-1 draw to leapfrog Leicester and go into second, with Andrea Whetton opening the scoring early on only for Blackburn captain Lynda Shepherd to equalise after half-time.
SOUTHERN DIVISION
Chichester managed a late goal to snatch victory against battling Swindon.
The visitors took the lead through Sophie Roberts, who volleyed in from close range as Chichester failed to clear a free-kick.
But the hosts responded in the second half, with Jade Widdows poking the ball home from a corner.
The game looked to be a stalemate until the fourth minute of injury time, when Jess Lewry smashed in from a great cross to seal the victory.
Charlton earned an impressive 3-0 win over Coventry to go second in the table, with a Kit Graham double and a wonderful strike from Hope Nash securing the three points.
It was the same scoreline in the match between Gillingham and QPR, as Kallie Balfour opened the scoring just before half-time before Jade Keogh got two in the final 12 minutes.
There were eight goals in the match between West Ham United and Portsmouth, with seven of them coming from the home side.
C&K Basildon ran out 1-0 victors against Lewes with the only goal of the game coming through Hayley West in the first half.
GAME OF THE WEEK
There were multiple captivating games this weekend but West Ham’s 7-1 victory over Portsmouth has to be the pick of the bunch.
The visitors were two places ahead of West Ham going into the match which makes the feat even more impressive, with Kelly Wealthall’s hat-trick especially notable.
Hannah Wheeler, Rosie Kmita, Jasmine Auguste and Leanne Mabey added the rest in a strong performance from the Hammers, with Daisy McLachlan’s strike the only reply from Pompey.
MANAGER OF THE WEEK
Leicester boss Jonathan Morgan approached their game with Guiseley Vixens in the perfect way – with caution. The Foxes have only lost once in the last six but it was at the hands of the Vixens and that could have hung over them as they travelled there today.
However, they put in a clinical performance to sustain their challenge for the top spot in the Northern Division.
GOAL OF THE WEEK
Sophie Charlton’s late effort gave Fylde a vital win away from home against Forest. The visitors went 3-1 up after 70 minutes only for Forest to score twice in two minutes to level the score.
But Charlton managed to beat the offside trap and drill a low ball past the keeper to snatch a dramatic victory five minutes from time to extend their unbeaten run to five games.
