Oxford United Women earned a comfortable away victory over London Bees this afternoon, with a brace from Jenna Legg and a goal each for Kate Wiseman and Zoe Barratt sealing three points on the road.
The U’s put the Bee’s goal under siege for the first half an hour, but the North London side did well to prevent Oxford from making the breakthrough. Barratt sent a half volley into the side netting followed by a strike from close range blocked off the line.
Then, just after the half hour mark the U’s found the lead that had been coming. Barratt drove down the right and forced a good save from Webber, but the ball fell kindly to Legg who took her time and found the bottom corner.
They made it two quickly after, with Wiseman finishing calmly into the bottom corner in the 38th minute.
Jaime Gotch replaced Nicola Gibson at half time and the U’s found their third ten minutes after the restart. Legg doubled her tally for the day, reacting quickest in the box as the ball fell from a free kick, and lashing her strike into the net to put the result beyond doubt.
Legg almost had a hat-trick within the hour, heading Wiseman’s pinpoint free kick just over the bar but it was Bees who scored next. Breaking away with speed, the ball found Tiana Nee-Chambers who slotted past Paris Sercombe to deny United a clean sheet.
Lacy Liggett, Vitaliia Budaieva and Sarah King replaced Izzy Cook, Ellie Noble (making her second debut for the Yellows) and Legg.
It was, however, a comfortable victory, sealed by Barratt getting the goal she deserved. Legg slid the U’s number 9 in in the 86th minute and she rounded the keeper and placed the ball into an empty net to make it 4-1 and wrap up the three points.
A seventh consecutive league victory to take them up into third place going into a massive game at home to Portsmouth next Sunday.
LINEUP: Sercombe, Provan, Gibson (Gotch, 45), Jenkins, Oliver, Wiseman, Burridge, Noble (Budaieva 65), Legg (King 90), Barratt, Cook (Liggett 65)
Report by Billy Lawrence, photos by Darrell Fisher