Alloa Athletic Women continued their winning start to the season with an impressive 5-1 victory away to Central Ladies at Little Kerse on Sunday, following up their emphatic 11-0 opening-day win.
Despite a smaller squad due to holidays and injuries, the Wasps showed their quality, resilience and attacking threat to secure another three points.
Alloa took the lead through Jenna Woods, who produced a superb low, driven finish from outside the box, finding the corner beyond Central goalkeeper Kira Souttar.
The visitors doubled their advantage from a well-worked set-piece. Lucy Burnett delivered an excellent corner which was flicked on by player-manager Jill Leiper, allowing Neve McGuigan to head home into an empty net.
Central responded to reduce the deficit to 2-1, with Shellie Calder producing a clipped finish, but Alloa goalkeeper Emma Allison ensured the hosts could not build on their momentum with an outstanding save from distance, reaching into the top corner to keep the score unchanged.
Alloa quickly restored their two-goal advantage. Burnett played Amy Cully down the line, and the forward glided past the Central defenders before calmly slotting the ball beyond Souttar.
McGuigan then grabbed her second of the afternoon before the interval, once again capitalising on Burnett’s delivery from a corner to produce an excellent finish and give Alloa a commanding 4-1 lead at the break.
The Wasps delivered a composed and professional second-half performance, controlling proceedings and creating further opportunities to extend their advantage.
The fifth goal arrived in spectacular fashion as Woods collected a quick Rihanna McMinimee throw-in, turned sharply and unleashed a wonderful strike from range to complete the scoring and seal an impressive 5-1 victory.
Speaking after the match, player-manager Jill Leiper said:
“I’m really proud of the players. We had a smaller squad available with holidays and injuries, but everyone stepped up and showed what this group is capable of.
“We’re starting to see things come together from the work we’ve been putting in on the training pitch. The confidence is growing, the players are understanding their roles, and we’re beginning to see that translate into our performances.
“It’s pleasing to score five goals but I was equally happy with how composed and professional we were in the second half. We’ll enjoy the win, keep working hard and look to build on this next week.”
Alloa will look to continue their winning run when they return to home action next Sunday, 25 October, welcoming Cumbernauld Colts for a 2pm kick-off.
