Soccer

Cliftonville Ladies and Lisburn Rangers make it two wins from two to lead the way in the Sports Direct Women’s Premiership.

Elsewhere, Linfield Women were in seventh heaven as they kicked off their campaign in style, while Crusaders Strikers bounced back from last week’s opening defeat to get their first points on board.

Derry City’s Caoirse Doherty hold’s off the challenge of Cliftonville defender Hannah Doherty at Solitude (Photo: Damien Toolan)
Derry City’s Caoirse Doherty hold’s off the challenge of Cliftonville defender Hannah Doherty at Solitude (Photo: Damien Toolan)
By Glenn Kelly

Cliftonville Ladies surged to the top of the Sports Direct Women’s Premiership this evening thanks to a thumping 5-0 victory over Derry City.

Newly promoted Lisburn Rangers made it two wins from two with an impressive 4-0 win at Larne, whilst there were also wins for Linfield Women and Crusaders Strikers.

With fans at Solitude expecting that the Reds would have too much for the travelling Candystripes, most were disappointed as the game remained scoreless for the opening half hour. Fi Morgan and Cailin McGuiness both had opportunities in the box but failed to break the stalemate. However, the Cliftonville faithful could breathe a sigh of relief when their side grabbed the opener on 39 minutes.

Linfield Women players celebrate Cora Chambers’ goal against Lisburn Ladies at the Bluebell Stadium (Photo: Paul Harvey)
Linfield Women players celebrate Cora Chambers’ goal against Lisburn Ladies at the Bluebell Stadium (Photo: Paul Harvey)

Katie Markey had the simplest of finishes from two yards after some enterprising work from her midfield team-mates. And just two minutes later it was two. This time comeback woman Danielle Maxwell with a rasping drive from the edge of the area into the roof of the net to send manager John McGrady into the break a happy man.

The goals continued into the second period, with captain Marissa Callaghan grabbing her side’s third on 62 minutes. Earlier in the day the veteran stepped back from her position as skipper of the national team, but she put that behind her this evening to finish off a Maxwell cross with a smart low-drive into the bottom corner.

As City began to crumble, the Reds added a fourth 10 minutes later. After a smart stop from the keeper from a McGuiness effort, Kelsie Burrows was on hand with a clever finish from inside the box.

Rachel Kerr (Lisburn Ladies) and Mia Fitzsimmons (Linfield Women) battle for possession at the Bluebell Stadium (Photo: Paul Harvey)
Rachel Kerr (Lisburn Ladies) and Mia Fitzsimmons (Linfield Women) battle for possession at the Bluebell Stadium (Photo: Paul Harvey)

And with ten minutes on the clock, they got a fifth. Carla Devine sprinting past the keeper before rolling the ball into the net to end the night on top of the pile.

Elsewhere, Linfield got their campaign off to a flying start with a whopping 7-0 win over Lisburn Ladies at the Bluebell Stadium.  Northern Ireland International Cora Chambers was one of the scorers having made the move from Sion Swifts in the off-season.

Ladies’ neighbours Lisburn Rangers put down a marker of showing how a new club can compete in the top flight with a 4-0 win at Inver Park against Larne. This win brought them second in the table.

Finally, Crusaders beat Mid-Ulster 5-1 at Seaview to claim their first win of the campaign. With the score 1-1 at half-time, the north Belfast outfit surged clear in the second period to get their season back on track.