Oxford United Women made it eight wins from eight home games this afternoon with a 3-0 win over second-bottom Chichester & Selsey Ladies, thanks to goals from Sarah King, Carly Johns and Beth Lumsden, with her 17th of the season.
United made one change to the side that beat Cardiff last week, with Sophie Baker replaced by Sarah King, and it was a change that paid dividends.
Oxford weren’t quite at the races for the first 15 minutes, as the Chichester press forced a number of errors, the visitors' play belying their lowly league position. United gradually settled down and got into the rhythm of their usual passing game. However, the Chichester defence held firm, despite a long-range Daisy McLachlan shot going narrowly wide and a great save by Sadie Blakely when Johns was played in one on one.
It wasn’t until the 36th minute that United’s patience paid off as Emily Wallace, who provided two assists last weekend, crossed for Sarah King to clip the ball beyond Blakely to break the deadlock.
Six minutes later and the U’s doubled the lead as a sublime through ball from skipper Lauren Haynes played Johns free into the area and she made no mistake, sliding the ball past Blakely.
In the second half, it was United that made most of the running, with Rose Kite largely a spectator in the Oxford goal. However, despite their dominance, clear-cut chances were hard to come by as the visitors defended strongly. There was one great interchange between Johns and Lumsden that ended with the latter's shot smashing off Blakely.
It was Lumsden, though, who provided the moment that sealed the game for Oxford as she picked up the ball 35 yards out, stepped forward and blasted an unstoppable shot into the far corner. There was a nice moment in the 67th minute when King was replaced by Sophie Baker for her 100th appearance for the U's.
Johns thought she had made it 4-0 when she converted the rebound after Blakely had done well to keep out Lumsden's shot, but the offside flag curtailed the celebrations. In the closing stages United peppered the Chichester goal but the visiting defence put their bodies on the line to keep the scoreline down.
Another home win, and there'll be the chance to watch the Yellows at home again next Sunday when they take on Portsmouth. See you there.
United: Kite, Mackenzie, Casley, Beaver (Gilmore), Wallace, King (Baker), Stevens, Haynes (Peters), MacLachlan (French), Johns (Williams), Lumsden
Report: Martin Brodetsky Pictures: Darrell Fisher