Park Ladies 3-1 Riverside Rovers Reserves: ninth consecutive victory is a walk in the Park for league leaders

Park Ladies extended their lead at the top of the S-Tech Women’s Championship South thanks to a resounding 3-1 triumph over mid-table Riverside Rovers Reserves.

A tight first half brought limited chances for the hosts, but it seemed that Park’s wait to open the scoring would be over when the referee pointed to the spot after a hand ball.

Kirstie Smith stepped up, but missed her spot kick. Casey Ward then went close to giving Park the lead, but the two teams went into the break level after a cagey opening 45 minutes.

The home side started brightly in the second half, and took the lead after an hour when Smith’s cross caused havoc in the Riverside box and the ball was turned into the net via a Riverside player.

Complacency crept into Park’s play after taking the lead, and Riverside nearly levelled but Eleanor Coleman stood strong in goal when one-on-one with a Riverside attacker.

Coleman cleared the ball straight to Amy Newell, who then surged down the pitch and struck a sweet strike into the bottom corner to double Park’s lead.

Newell soon doubled her personal tally when she ghosted in from the left side to curve an excellent shot past the Riverside goalkeeper.

Riverside notched a consolation goal to give themselves hope 10 minutes from time, but Park held firm to record their ninth consecutive league win, which fired them five points clear over second-placed St Ives Town Ladies.