LIVERPOOL Women put hosts Coventry United Ladies to the sword in a 5-1 drubbing in the FA Women’s Continental League Cup.
Kirsty Linnett was on target with a hat-trick at Butts Park Arena, sandwiched between strikes from Niamh Charles and Jess Clarke, with Rosie Axten scoring the only goal for the Red and Greens.
The Women’s Super League outfit took a third-minute lead when Charles headed Linnett’s corner into the roof of the net, with the provider turning goalscorer two minutes later after slipping the ball underneath Coventry keeper Sue Wood.
Eight minutes later, the deficit was halved when Axten picked up possession from Amber Hughes and rifled past Fran Kitching to continue the early goal rush.
Beth Merrick and Hughes both sent shots into the side-netting as the hosts pushed for the equaliser, until Linnett restored the two-goal cushion with a bullet header on the half-hour mark.
Linnett’s third and Liverpool’s fourth goal of the game came just before the half was out, when a strike was squeezed inside the past past Wood.
The crossbar denied Coventry an immediate response from Axten’s strike, giving United a mountain to climb in the second half.
While the hosts did put the ball in the back of the net through Sian Johnson at the beginning of the second half, the goal was chalked off after the linesman raised his flag.
Matters were well and truly settled on 67 minutes by Clarke’s drive high into the net, before Becky Anderson’s red card rubbed further salt into the wound for the hosts.
Despite the defeat, the occasion drew in 802 spectators in another positive advert for women’s sport in the local area.
Next up for United’s Ladies is a trip to Blackburn Rovers in the FA Women’s Championship on Sunday (2pm).
