Lichfield Diamonds 0-7 Coventry City Ladies
Midlands Combination League
25th February 2007
By Christine Wheeler
It was all one-way traffic at Lichfield on Sunday as Coventry City Ladies thrashed the home side 7-0, including two hat-tricks, to keep the Sky Blues just three points behind league leaders Rotherham with a minus three goal difference. It also meant 3 wins out of 3 in all competitions for Coventry against Lichfield this season.
Sinead Wade got her hat-trick before half-time, picking scraps for her first two goals on 23 and 31 minutes. Her third, at the very end of the half, was basic route one with a long ball from defender Natasha Lynch setting up the striker to produce a deft lob over the onrushing goalie Steph Cole to make it 3-0 at the break. It should've been 4-0 though as a sublime 25 yard free kick from Kelly-Ann Willis was acrobatically pushed over the bar by Cole.
Mel Byrne opened her account for the day 27 minutes after the restart when she volleyed in a Willis free-kick from close range at the far post. The striker's second came nine minutes later, being set up by a cute outside of the foot pass by fellow striker Sarah Marshall who had come on a substitute for Wade.
Even the defenders got into the scoring as left back Jenny Lowe slid one under Cole after making a run into box with three minutes remaining to make it 6-0. Byrne then wrapped up her hat-trick just one minute later when she was quickest to react to another Steph Cole fumble, one of many that afternoon.
After the game, rather than looking at her own goals, Sinead Wade looked at her other scorers, joking "I can't believe J-Lo [Jenny Lowe] scored. And that I didn't see it!" Manager Stuart Wilson thought his entire team were superb, summing it up as "Absolutely brilliant. A different class".
Coventry Squad: Kerry Williamson (Katie George, 72), Natalie Wilcox, Jenny Lowe, Kelly Henson, Natasha Lynch, Maria Cartwright (Louise Whitehouse, 72), Kirsty Robson, Emma Lipman, Mel Byrne, Sinead Wade (Sarah Marshall, 77), Kelly-Ann Willis. Subs not used: Natalie Brace, Helen Dermody