Norwich City Ladies suffered a heavy 9-0 defeat at the hands of promotion contenders Gillingham Ladies.

Gillingham raced into a 3-0 lead after 20 minutes before Chelsea Garrett went close for the Canaries only to see her shot fly just over the bar.

When Kate Parsons was adjudged to have fouled a Gills player in the area the resulting penalty was converted on 33 minutes by Jade Keogh.

Norwich were then forced into a substitution on 36 minutes when Ellen Swift left the field, with Natasha Snelling coming on and it remained 4-0 at the break.

Garrett again went close for City in the 51st minute but was denied by a good save by the goalkeeper.

Gillingham kicked on and ran riot in the second period as they claimed the points in a 9-0 win.

Norwich will be looking to bounce back next weekend when they travel to Luton, who themselves were beaten 10-1 by Gillingham recently.