Premier Division 2B

KS Cougars 6,

Bournemouth

seconds 1

Returning to league action last weekend, KS started strongly with an opening goal on five minutes from Sophie Claughton, picking a rebound and finishing clinically on her debut.

Gemma Samuel extended the lead 10 minutes later, finishing well from a rifled cross.

In a mid-half quiet spell Bournemouth countered well with strong movement off the ball and some piercing runs.

This caused KS some trouble as they were initially slow to pick up on the angled runners, leading to a well-taken goal for Bournemouth through some nice play on the break.

Against all other counters Fi Wadey and Rachel Roberts were unbeatable, quick to apply pressure on the ball and driving play out to the corners and away from the danger areas.

Erin Murgatroyd made a fine early save to parry wide, followed by a strong step out and kick clear to establish her presence in the D on her senior debut.

At half time the Cougars focused in on countering the Bourne­mouth movement off the ball and soon had the game under control in the second half.

Captain Chloe Harvey was on hand to tap in off the pads from a short corner 15 minutes after the restart and with some excellent doubling up around the tackle KS were soon holding the majority of possession.

Solid midfield work from Lou Read kept the KS shape focused and allowed the inside forwards to work more freely into the channels.

Clever work from Read on changing the attacking angles allowed Kerly to break free and nearly increase the scoreline as she soundly beat the ‘keeper but fired just outside the post following an excellent run.

During a pitched spell Bourne­mouth again countered strongly and both Bex Darke and Gemma Harvey picked up green cards for some agricultural stick tackles.

Returning legend Abi Bell demonstrated her versatility in a number of positions and delivered strongly in each.

With Gemma Harvey rolling in to right-back Wadey was released into midfield.

Supporting play after Claughton had cleverly picked the pass on a poor defensive transfer from Bournemouth, Wadey surged forwards from right half to knock towards goal and see Laura Kerly pick the rebound to smash home on the reverse with 20 minutes remaining.

With KS now firmly in the driving seat two more goals followed in quick succession as Harvey and Kerly played silky one-twos from the halfway line straight through the Bournemouth centre, finishing with Harvey slotting home from close range.

Vice-captain Helen Symons took a well-earned spot on the scoresheet and closed the game out with a rifled short corner, her shot deflecting into the roof of the net.

A good performance to open the season saw KS blowing away the cobwebs and improving throughout the match, with Gemma Samuel sharing wom­an-of-the-match with Erin Murgatroyd, who made an outstanding debut in goal.

Fern Tucker took coaches’ player for a rock-solid performance at right half - competitive in the tackle, reading the game well and strong on the ball.