With many teams in cup action there were just four games across the FA Women’s Premier League this weekend but no shortage of drama.
Stoke City won big and Crystal Palace came out on top in south-east London – here’s our wrap of all the week’s action.
NORTHERN DIVISION
Stoke City were the big winners in the Northern Division after they ran out 6-2 winners away at Bradford City.
The Staffordshire side went into the game higher up the table and it showed right from the off as Nic Hudson and Hannah Keryakoplis put the travelling side 2-0 up inside 12 minutes.
Abigail Lee pulled one back for Bradford but Ashleigh Hayes restored the two-goal lead with a tap-in, Hannah Smith then firing in a superb strike to make it 3-2.
But after the break it was all Stoke as Emily Owen added to two more from Keryakoplis to wrap up a resounding victory.
Elsewhere, the top-three clash between Huddersfield Town and Leicester City ended 1-1 as the two sides cancelled each other out.
Paige Crossman opened the scoring for Leicester, heading in from Paige Stewart’s free-kick, before Brittany Sanderson equalised in a nervy affair.
SOUTHERN DIVISION
Into the Southern Division and an excellent performance from Queens Park Rangers that held Cardiff City to a 1-1 draw in the Welsh capital.
Dominika Netschova put the visitors 1-0 up at the break but Cardiff evened things up in the second half to maintain a three-point gap between the teams in the table.
Crystal Palace maintained the pressure on Charlton at the top of the Southern Division but were made to work for the points in a 2-0 win over Gillingham.
Gills kept the home side out until half-time but Palace finally took the lead in the 54th minute when Ellie Stenning converted Gemma Bryan’s low cross.
10 minutes later and the lead was doubled, with Bryan herself getting on the scoresheet this time, finishing off at the back post from a cross into the six-yard-box.
GAME OF THE WEEK
This week’s game of the week has to go to the match-up between Bradford and Stoke, with eight goals shared between the sides.
In an end-to-end game possession was fairly even between the teams but Stoke proved to the be the more clinical, with some excellent goals scored on the day.
MANAGER OF THE WEEK
Huddersfield manager Ashley Vickers has to take the plaudits after his side took a point against Leicester, who sit one place above them in the Southern Division table.
It was an evenly-matched affair throughout and it could have been an even better day for the home side if Kate Mallin’s shot had not cannoned off the bar in the dying seconds.
GOAL OF THE WEEK
Brittany Sanderson claims the goal of the week after she got Huddersfield back into the match against Leicester.
1-0 down after 17 minutes, Sanderson unleashed a rocket from 15 yards that flew into the left corner of the goal, leaving Leicester stunned.
