COVENTRY City Ladies stretched their winning streak in the Women’s Premier League Northern Division to four thanks to a 3-1 win away at Stoke LFC.
Craig Nicholls’ side made the short journey to league leaders Stoke on Sunday brimming with confidence and they got off to a flying start after just two minutes.
A poor back pass by Nicola Hudson was latched on by Katie Lowder who rolled the ball calmly past the Stoke goalkeeper to put the visitors in front.
The goal sparked the hosts into life as they grew into the match but the Sky Blues looked capable of causing problems every time they came forward and it was no surprise to see them double their advantage on 17 minutes.
A neat through ball from Maz Gauntlett fell to Ashleigh Neville who managed to beat the offside trap before exquisitely chipping the ball over the advancing keeper.
Destiney Toussaint almost put the finishing touch to a superb passing move on 24 minutes but her effort struck the underside of the bar and Helen Dermody came close before the Sky Blues made it 3-0 five minutes before the break.
Nicholls’ side were awarded a free kick 35 yards from goal and midfielder Callan Barber fired a shot that evaded everyone and bounced into the top corner of the net.
Stoke managed to find their feet after the re-start as they searched for a way back into the game.
On 58 minutes a powerful driven corner from Natasha Tezgal was met by Louise Roberts who fired over from just inside the area.
The Sky Blues began to rely on the counter attack and came close to wrapping up the match on 64 minutes when Dermody was denied by a smart save and an offside infringement saw a fourth City goal disallowed.
Sue wood was forced to make her first save 20 minutes from times as the game turned into a feisty affair with tempers running high on both sides.
Seven minutes from time Stoke managed to pull one goal back when Laura Garside picked out Hannah Bailey with a cross and although her initial effort was blocked by Wood she was able to score from the rebound.
But Stoke were unable to create any notable chances in the final seven minutes as the Sky Blues stood firm to secure another league win.
CCFC Ladies manager Craig Nicholls said “It was a fantastic first 45 minutes for us with some great play and brilliant interchange. We created plenty of chances again which was very promising.”
“The Second half was a different story, Stoke came out with fight, not all legal. We coped with their physical nature very well though and I’ll always back us to score more than any team we play. Another great 3 points.”
