King’s Lynn Town Ladies were rewarded with a well-earned three points after a 2-1 win over Royston - their first home fixture of the new ERWFL Premier Division season.
Both sides lost their opening fixtures and were looking to kick-start their seasons and get a reaction from the previous weekend.
Royston were the first to break through, creating a couple of half chances, only to find Lynn’s shot stopper Cristina Vivas Artacho in sparkling form - pulling some acrobatic saves out of the bag.
Lynn, not to be outdone, returned the favour with the new strike force of Samara Nche and Oksana Imanalijeva working some great one-twos, pressuring the visitors' left flank and getting early shots on target.
Club stalwart Rachel Skinner also combined with Nche on the right side to put Royston on the back foot, with her probing runs and lofted accurate crosses.
The Linnets took the lead in the 20th minute from a Jodie Hopkins free-kick, taken well out on the left touchline. The 35-yard kick sailed past a beleaguered Royston keeper as it took a deflection on its way up and looped its way into the back of the net, much to the delight of the sun-drenched 150 spectators.
Lynn continued to battle for the rest of the half, working as a unit, closing down play and forcing the opposition to give ball away with limited outlet from their defence.
Royston returned to the pitch first for the restart but unlike the previous week's encounter at Luton, the Linnets remained alert and fought to close play down early.
Nche continued to create issues for the Royston defence. Probing runs, vision and distribution to her strike partners excited the touchline throughout the 90 minutes. Her work rate off of the ball is to be commended and in her limited time at Lynn has had a sudden impact.
The midfield was extremely hard-fought between both sides but the Lynn trio of Alice Collins, Lily Porter and Kimberley Fairweather stifled much of the Royston attacks and provided a good platform from which to attack.
Porter’s distribution with a through diagonal ball to Imanalijeva created the Linnets' second goal some 10 minutes into the restart. Imanalijeva, having collected the ball, went on a 25-yard solo run, beating two defenders and then calmly slotting the ball past the outstretched Royston keeper.
Royston, to their credit, never looked out of the game, and continued to push on the break against a tiring Lynn side, and the last 10-15 minutes was a rather frantic affair, with several Lynn players suffering from cramp in the heat.
Royston’s Gemma Croucher gave the visitors a late consolation goal after Vivas Artacho failed to gather the ball cleanly on her near post. The ensuing scramble saw several attempts to clear the ball, but Croucher fortuitously was able to poke the goal into the net.
This was a good all-round team performance from Lynn, with players leaving everything on the pitch at the end of the 90 minutes.
Coach Alex Cook said: “I’d asked for a response after last week’s game at Luton, and today we achieved three points.
“A great all round performance, which was consistent across the whole of the 90 minutes.”
AJD Auto Repairs POTM: Samara Nche
Squad: Cristina Vivas Artacho (GK), Amy Cropley, Jodie Hopkins, Alice Collins, Fran Peeling, Shanice Burch, Oksana Imanalijeva, Kimberley Fairweather, Samara Nche, Lily Porter, Rachel Skinner.
Subs: Amie Ford, Ellie Meads, Tilly Sands, Katie Ward, Sophie Powell
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