Poulton Vics 0-1 West

West Women travelled to the Wirral on Sunday afternoon and came back to Manchester with a well-earned victory over Poulton Vics. 

The trip came on the back of five consecutive wins, which included a club-record victory over Chadderton the previous weekend. West therefore had good reason to be confident against opponents who sat just inside the Premier Division's relegation zone. 

It was a match played out in glorious sunshine, although the previous days' rain did make the playing surface difficult for both sides to get to grips with. The hosts arguably came out the stronger, and forced West 'keeper Meg Dickin into an early fingertip save inside the opening minutes. That early pressure was short-lived though, as Naomi Lawrence claimed her 15th goal of the season when the Vics keeper could only parry a stinging effort from Caitlin Olthof into her path in the 19th minute. 

West had the momentum after that and were unlucky to go in with just the one goal lead at the break. 

The home side dominated the second period however, and whilst the usually-prolific Naomi Lawrence squandered a number of close-range opportunities to kill the game, it was the visitors who applied most of the pressure. That said, resolute defending from Soñes-Devally and Mason at the heart of the West defence ensured that Meg Dickin didn't have too much to do between the sticks, although she was required to make a number sharp saves late on to keep Vics at bay. 

West did manage to see the match out and claim a sixth successive win which, saw the club leapfrog FC United of Manchester into 4th position. 

Article by Ollie Sargent