BURTON Albion earned their first three points of the West Midlands Regional Women's Football League campaign on Sunday as they ran out as 5-1 winners in a dominant display against Redditch United at the Trico Stadium.
An early opportunity for Burton came through a mistake from the home goalkeeper, as her miskicked clearance found the feet of Alice Lilley, but the forward failed to convert as the Redditch defence recovered well to deny the shot and clear the danger.
Redditch saw their first chance of the match come in the seventh minute, as Potter made a darting run toward the Brewers defence from midfield, shooting from the edge of the box, but failed to trouble Alice Langstone, who held the ball well.
Charlotte Jarvis had the next chance, as the ball dropped in the hosts’ box from a corner in the ninth minute, but the defender couldn’t take advantage, as her first time effort went wide of the mark.
Potter had the chance 14 minutes in to put the hosts in the driving seat, as she latched onto a through ball in behind the Burton defence, one-on-one with Langstone, but her strike missed the target.
Millie Drinkhall put the ball in the back of the Redditch net on 22 minutes, but the forward was adjudged to have been offside.
It didn’t take long for the Brewers to get the ball in the back of the net again however as Emily GILLOTT opened the scoring with a fine headed finish from a corner.
Just minutes later, DRINKHALL doubled the Burton lead, netting with a powerful finish past Derrick from just inside the box.
Drinkhall had a chance to double her tally on the afternoon in the 35th minute, as Amber-Leigh Denny played a fantastic through ball in behind the Redditch defence towards Drinkhall, but the forward’s first-time effort went well over the bar.
The second half started in a similar fashion to the first, with Burton dominating possession. Alice LILLEY picked up the ball down the right side and sent an effort in on goal from just outside the box, curling the ball into the top left-hand corner beautifully to extend the Brewers lead to 3-0.
Burton quickly added to the lead to make it 4-0, with substitute Farrah Hoyle breaking down the left-hand side, and playing a square ball to DRINKHALL, who tapped in at the far post to net her second of the afternoon on 55 minutes.
Redditch looked to hit back in the 75th minute with Guppy, who made a smart run in behind the Brewers defence, but a fantastic recovery run from Jarvis saw the danger cleared.
But the hosts finally hit back in the 79th minute, as Potter took advantage of a mistake in the Burton defence and finished clinically one-on-one past Langstone.
A mistake by the Redditch defence gave the Brewers an opportunity to regain their four-goal lead, and they did just that, as Ceara TOAL pounced onto a loose ball and slotted home into an empty net to round off an impressive display.
The Brewers moved up to fifth in the West Midlands Regional Women’s Football League Premier Division table and face a home tie against Shrewsbury Town at the Burton Albion Community Trust Football Centre next Sunday (3pm kick-off).