Cherelle Archibald struck twice as the Coventry City Ladies got back to winning ways with a 4-1 victory at Leafield Athletic. Archibald had headed the Sky Blues into an early lead only to see Leanne Ashington peg it back with a precise free kick. Archibald repeated the trick with another forceful header before Kirsty Robson kept up her run of scoring in every game with a dazzling solo effort. Kelly Henson's second half penalty wrapped up the points for City as they return to the top of Midland Women's Combination League.
Coventry were ahead after just 39 seconds as Natasha Lynch pumped in a deep free kick that Robson fired across goal. Nicole Tinto, deployed on the left wing, kept the ball in play and lifted it up to Archibald who fired her header past Lorraine Robinson in the Leafield goal. The hosts responded well and their pressure finally told in the 16th minute when Ashington fired her dead ball over Rogers in a manner eerily similar to two of Wolves' strikes last week.
Tinto was desperately unlucky not to restore the lead in the 23rd minute after picking up Jade Formaston's cross field ball and cutting back onto her right foot before drilling her shot against the left hand upright. Robson was alert to the loose ball and Archibald's glancing header came very close to converting the resulting cross.
Just one minute later Archibald did find the target, attacking a Helen Dermody corner to head home with some venom for her tenth goal of the season. On the half hour mark Kirsty Robson scored her third goal in three Coventry appearances. The prolific striker picked the ball up midway inside Leafield's half and drove at her marker, pushing into the box as Archibald dragged defenders away. Robson, finding herself one on one with Robinson, coolly side-stepped the keeper to roll the ball into the empty net for a 3-1 half time lead.
The Sky Blues dominated second half proceedings with the hosts seemingly lacking the self-belief to mount any serious threat to the Coventry goal. Kelly Henson's 68th minute penalty provided a fourth goal for the visitors and stamped their authority on the match. Nikki Miles had played a searching ball that Leafield failed to clear allowing Dermody to gather possession inside the box. Clare McHarrie brought down City's top scorer before Henson sent Robinson the wrong way, firing hard into the bottom right hand corner.
Emily Hanson forced a good save from Robinson late on and Tinto was narrowly wide with a speculative effort as the Sky Blues went in search of a fifth. Leafield missed a couple of chances to make the scoreline more respectable as Jenny Thraves thrashed her effort across the front of goal and Sam White blasted her shot high and wide when she had far more time than she'd thought.
Derby County's 4-1 defeat on the road at TNS/Shrewsbury has thrown the title race wide open again placing added importance to next week's home tie with Radcliffe Olympic. The Sky Blues won the only previous meeting between the two clubs when a Dermody double helped Coventry come from behind to record a 3-2 victory earlier this month. The match is at Coventry University's Westwood Heath Sports Ground with a 14:00 kick off.
Team: - Rogers, Dermody, Forbes, Henson, Lynch (c), Cockayne, Formaston (Miles 53), Hanson, Archibald, Robson (Ogle 70), Tinto.
Goals: - Archibald (1 & 24), Robson (30), Henson (pen 68).
Booked: - None.
Sent Off: - None.