Winning start for Fylde Ladies

Three second-half strikes secured a perfect start to the campaign for Conrad Prendergast’s side as they aim for promotion to the Women’s Super League II.

Hannah Forster broke the deadlock shortly after the interval before debutant Veatriki Sarri doubled the advantage from the spot.

Fellow summer signing Lauren Davies wrapped up the points with a third Coasters goal in 10 minutes.

The Coasters were greeted by glorious weather on Teesside and began to take control midway through the half with some delightful play.

A tactical change saw Danielle Young move from a wide position into the centre as the Coasters limited Middlesbrough and prolific goalscorer Bianca Owens to very little in front of goal.

The second half continued in a similar vein with the visitors firmly in control, Sophie Charlton going close following a fantastic ball from Danielle Lea.

Fylde kept up the pressure and deservedly got the opener on 56 minutes when Forster finally broke Boro’s resolve

Just two minutes later and the lead was two as Charlton played in Greek international Sarri, who was brought down in the box. The forward dusted herself off to convert the penalty with a low strike into the bottom corner.

Middlesbrough struggled to find a response, with the Coasters putting in a superb defensive performance, and the result was put to bed in the 66th minute, when Davies netted to seal the three points.

Assistant manager Robert Curran said: “The players were fantastic. As a team we stuck to the game-plan we had worked on in training and they took in everything we had spoken about before the game.

Most importantly, though, we showed a real togetherness, which was a big part of this important win.”

The Ladies’ next match is a cup-tie at Bradford City on September 3.

Fylde Ladies: Brooks, Lea, Carroll, Fuller, Wilkes, orster, Davis, Sarri, Young, Charlton, Merrin.