Fulham Women made a spectacular start to the new season – thrashing Barking Women 6-0 on a sunkissed afternoon at Craven Cottage.
The Whites were on the front foot from the outset with summer signing Lily Stevens testing Darcie Salmons with a 20 yard free-kick and took the lead on ten minutes. A short corner saw Megalie Mendes curl in a teasing delivery that was emphatically headed home by Becky Stormer at the back post.
It took less than a minute for Steve Jaye’s side to double their lead. Ellie Olds burst down the left flank and produced a peach of a cross for Sophie Manzie to convert from close-range. Fulham thought they had a third when Manzi lashed in another excellent ball from the lively Olds, but that goal was correctly ruled out for offside.
Salmons did superbly to keep out an effort from Sasha Adamson before the goalkeeper’s poor clearance went straight to Madi Parsonson only for Olds to lose her composure in front of goal and shoot straight at a grateful goalkeeper. Barking gradually grew into the contest, with Laura Bunton’s free-kick providing Amber Webber’s first serious involvement five minutes before half time.
At the other end, Fulham could – and perhaps should – have made sure of the points with the last action of the first period. Olds hit the bar with a header from a corner and, following up, Manzi uncharacteristically fired over the crossbar. The striker struck the woodwork again after the restart, this time hitting the post from a rebound after Salmons had spread herself well to deny Megalie Mendes.
Olds did finally get a deserved goal from another set-piece – bundling the ball over the line after another Stevens corner had caused carnage in the Barking box. Parsonson then produced a sensational strike to make it four, curling a quality strike into the bottom corner on the hour from to cap her all-action performance.
Substitute Ella Tagliavini nodded home another excellent cross from the persistent Olds five minutes later and Fulham’s perfect afternoon was complete when the unfortunate Salmons diverted a dangerous delivery from Olds into her own net to round off the scoring.
The Whites will look to make it two wins out of two in the London and South East Regional Premier Division when they take on Millwall at Motspur Park next Sunday.
FULHAM WOMEN: Webber; Gane, Stormer, Dale; Parsonson, Mendes, Barron-Clark, Stevens; Adamson, Olds, Manzi. Subs: Beaver, Tagliavini, Foreman, Taylor-Makepeace, Heasman.
GOALS: Stormer (10), Manzi (11), Olds (59), Parsonson (60), Tagliavini (65), Salmons (o.g. 90).
BARKING WOMEN: Salmons; Bacon, Blyth, Bunton, Hartwell, Hunt, E. Jenks-Landen, H. Jenks-Landen, Scales, Thomas, Ali. Subs: Finch, Meade, F. Pridie, N. Pridie, Reed.
ATTENDANCE: 1,579.
