Second-half strikes from Jess Naz and Olivia Holdt saw us conclude our pre-season programme with a 3-1 victory over Southampton on Sunday afternoon.
Similar to our friendly last weekend against Arsenal, we needed a much-improved performance after the break to ensure we preserved our unbeaten run in pre-season and we certainly delivered with two well-taken finishes to claim the win at the Snows Stadium.
A fantastic solo goal from Naz just after the hour mark restored our lead in the contest after Southampton’s Atlanta Primus cancelled out Martha Thomas’ strike, her first under Martin Ho, in the first period with an equaliser nine minutes after the restart.
Substitute Holdt showcased some clever footwork inside the box followed by a clinical finish into the bottom corner, as it brought a positive end to the last five weeks ahead of our Barclays Women’s Super League opener at home to West Ham United next weekend – tickets still available to buy.
We made four changes to the starting XI that faced our north London rivals last weekend as Thomas, Araya Dennis, Maite Oroz and Kit Graham came in, with the latter earning her first start in over 12 months after making her return from an anterior cruciate ligament injury in our seven-goal thriller at Arsenal.
The first note of action came after just three minutes when Jess Naz saw her effort on the half-volley saved well by Stenson but the Saints’ goalkeeper was unable to keep hold off the ball ball, which was eventually cleared off the line by one of her defenders. Graham fired a powerful left-foot strike over the bar from inside the left area of the box in an opening 20 minutes not filled with much quality from either side.
However, that changed on the half hour mark to break the deadlock on the south coast. captain Bethany England played a lovely ball out wide to Graham, she sent a low ball to Thomas just outside the six-yard box and our number 17 calmly directed the ball through the legs of Stenson and into the back of the net. Drew Spence dragged an effort wide of the far post from edge of the box on the stroke of half time as we held on to our one-goal advantage in the first period.
We made a double change at the break as Charlotte Grant and Holdt entered the fray and the latter nearly made an instant impact, forcing Stenson into a low save to her right with a low drive after good footwork to create space on her left foot just inside the box. But, at the other end, the home side grabbed an equaliser as Josefine Rybrink’s pass across the backline was intercepted by Mary Bashford, she then set Primus through one-on-one and the forward calmly slotted past Lize Kop.
However, we reacted well to the leveller and nine minutes later, we reinstated our lead in the contest. Spence played the ball into the feet of Naz and she produced her magic, showcasing her electric speed to breeze past Megan Collett on the far left and into the box before picking out the bottom right corner with a composed finish. Then, as we entered the final quarter-of-an-hour of the game, Holdt extended our advantage. England’s reverse pass into the centre was cleverly left by the Denmark international to let the ball run into the area, she then cut on to her right-foot before drilling low past Stenson at her near post.
The closing stages saw us continue to apply pressure, Stenson denying England with a strong save over the bar before Holdt should have had her second of the game in stoppage time as a clever flick from Thomas found the forward inside the box, but her right-footed effort was straight at the Saints' shot stopper.
A positive afternoon against the Women’s Super League 2 side as full focus now turns to our first competitive game of the season and under Martin with the WSL season opener next Sunday.