Six goals, a clean sheet and an all-round professional performance saw Bradford City Women into the third round of the FA Women’s Premier League Plate competition on Sunday.
Fresh off the back of hitting an in-form Leicester for four, five different names were on the scoresheet away at lower-league Crewe Alexandra in a dominant display.
The first 20 minutes were frustrating for the Bantams, with them playing some lovely stuff but struggling to produce that final ball.
The sense was that one goal would open the floodgates though, and that it did.
Charlotte Stuart’s delicious diagonal ball found Shauna Legge, who danced past several challenges before applying the finish that got the ball rolling.
From there, it was light work for City, which will come as a real positive given the number of players still to return from injury.
Stuart doubled the lead with an accurate header, while Lucy Sowerby added one of her fierce drives to make it three.
The first half was capped off when Laura Elford got her first of the game following great work from Faye Boshell, with City oozing confidence.
Even back to Charlotte Oates in between the sticks, the composure in possession and swagger on the ball showed just how much City were enjoying themselves on the road.
It was a performance that certainly didn’t suggest that this was the Bantams’ first away win of the season, with them making themselves at home on Crewe’s patch.
The hosts were forced into a couple of substitutions due to players struggling with injuries, but City stamped their authority on the game and earned the right to play football.
Ellie Olds, Stuart and Legge were winning everything in the air in the middle, while Paige Crosby and Boshell commanded the back line and restricted their opponents to just a couple of shots from distance.
As is often the case though, there were to be fewer goals in the second period as Crewe fought harder and City eased off a little.
Hannah Campbell was keen to make her mark though, and with her first touches off the bench she darted into the area and finished from an angle.
Elford then completed her brace and Keavy Smith was also wheeling away in celebration of a deserved goal, but the 17-year-old Player of the Match was denied by a last ditch goalline clearance.
A scrappy end to the game looked like it would be capped with a seventh for City as Legge was clumsily brought down in the area, but Elford frustratingly missed the chance to bag a hat-trick when she directed a powerful penalty over the bar.
With the result beyond doubt, there was very little for the Bantams to frown about though come full time, with a place in the next round confirmed.
And with just three other third-tier teams remaining in the competition – the rest all in the division below – it’s a competition that City can certainly go on to win, if they want it enough.
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