Bradford City cruised past local rivals Huddersfield Town on Wednesday night, with a hat-trick from Hannah Campbell and a brace from Emma Elliot giving them a 5-0 victory.
The game took a while to get going, but Elliot – one of a number of changes wrung by manager Steve Winterburn for the midweek fixture – broke the deadlock midway through the first half and City never looked back.
Elliot had her brace before the break, while Campbell would add a late hat-trick after moving into a more central position following some second half changes.
It’s back to winning ways for the Bantams then in league, following two draws and a defeat in their last three outings.
The opening 25 minutes on Wednesday were very even, with both sides enjoying nice passages of football at times but playing their part in making it a scrappy affair at others.
It wasn’t until Elliot’s 25th minute strike that we had our first real chance, with both teams struggling to find that killer pass in the final third up to then.
The striker, granted a start on the night after several successive substitute appearances, worked incredibly hard up top throughout and this contributed to the first opening. Having held off her marker with her back to goal, she turned into space and struck the ball into the top corner with a brilliant finish just inside the area.
Ellie Olds, another player promoted from the bench for this game, almost got on the scoresheet less than 10 minutes later too, but her effort from a well-delivered corner crashed against the underside of the bar.
It would be 2-0 less than a minute later though, with Elliot again pressing high and forcing an error out of the opposing goalkeeper. The goal-scorer got to the loose ball first and, with Huddersfield’s number one still scrambling to her feet, she fired into an empty net to double the lead.
If the first goal hadn’t spurred the visitors on, then this second one really did as City ended the half firmly on the front foot, pressing for a third.
Rotation of the XI meant plenty of impact on the bench for the Bantams too, and half time change Sarah Danby almost highlighted this perfect when, nine minutes after the interval, she watched her 25-yard effort fly just over the bar.
Huddersfield, meanwhile, started to pose more of a threat on the counter as the away side took full control of the game, but they never really troubled Chloe Precious in the City goal.
The closest they came to scoring on the night came with the scoreline at 4-0, but even then Precious was on top form to save, getting across her line well to follow a square ball and save the eventual shot brilliantly.
It was at the other end where all the action was; with City particularly exploiting things down their left hand side as Rosie McDonnell continued to get the better of her marker in an excellent individual display.
The winger created two chances just short of the hour, the former seeing her go alone and just miss the target, but it was left-back and substitute Chelsie Stokes who created the third goal.
Seconds after stepping onto the pitch, replacing the outstanding Elliot, Stokes picked up the ball out wide and, with just her second touch, whipped in an inviting ball for Campbell to convert on the slide.
This would be the first goal of a 15-minute hat-trick for the forward, who saw her second created by McDonnell; converting the teenager’s cut-back on second attempt.
Campbell’s third and final goal came seven minutes from time, this time after good play down the right, as City put the gloss on a strong performance.
The Bantams will now be rewarded with a weekend off before a big clash with Blackburn Rovers on Wednesday, with a place in the top three at stake.
