Sheffield United Women 5 Coventry United 1: Ruthless Blades continue strong run

Four goals before half-time put the Blades out of sight, though they were given a brief scare when Rosie Axten’s superb long-range effort cut the deficit after the hosts had taken an early 2-0 lead.

On-form striker Katie Wilkinson says the Blades are determined to put opposition teams to the sword early – particularly at the Olympic Legacy Park.

"It was another good performance in obviously tough conditions out there,” Wilkinson said.

“We want to aim to kill games early on which we’ve done now in both our home games.

“We wanted to try and get the advantage and we’ve scored two in the first 10 minutes.

“Everyone’s contributing and that’s great.

“It’s nice to get another couple of goals, we just need to keep working hard as a team to make sure this form continues after the international break.

“We’ve got a lot of momentum right now so it’s important to maintain that.

"This was just a real team performance.

“As I said, it was difficult out there but everybody did their jobs and we got the job done. We just need to keep picking up the three points whenever we play and that’s what we’ll be aiming to do next time out.

“It’s great for the girls we’ve got going away now and when they come back we’ll all be working hard for the next game.”

Keri Matthews laid a low cross on a plate for Olivia Fergusson to tap home at the back post and put the Blades ahead before another attack down the right saw Ellie Fletcher pull the ball back for Wilkinson who found the net for the fifth game in a row.

But ten minutes later Coventry had a lifeline. A loose pass in midfield was picked up by Axten who unleashed a spectacular effort which bounced off the underside of the bar and over the line.

It didn’t take the Blades long to increase the score line once more through a spectacular goal of their own, this time midfielder Aimee Palmer firing home from distance into the top corner to leave Sue Wood with little chance.

There was time for a fourth before half-time when Wilkinson found the net again, this time a low finish into the bottom corner after Coventry failed to clear a set-piece.

The second half was a low-key affair, only Maddy Cusack’s superb goal on 70 minutes adding to the gloss for the hosts as they ran out comfortable winners on a rain-lashed day.Sheffield United: Flaherty; Fletcher (Dixon 46), Little, Hartley, Sarri (Tinsley 90); Tierney (Paul 71), Cusack, Palmer; Matthews, Wilkinson, Fergusson. Subs not used: Batty, Barker

Coventry United: Wood; Dermody, Crackle, Bartle, Johnson; Merrick, Morris, Weston (O’Brien 61, Morgan 90), Hughes (Worts 75); Axten, Formaston. Subs not used: Austin, Chong, Anderson

Referee: Magdalena Golba

Attendance: 490

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