LFC Women Cruise To Comfortable 4-0 Over Crystal Palace

The Reds ran rampant as there were fans at Prenton Park for the
first time this season

Liverpool returned to action at Prenton Park after the
international break, and for the first time this season, there were
900 fans present to root on the Reds. The pesky Blackburn Rovers,
who held Liverpool to a draw in the last game before the break,
managed to keep the league leaders, Durham, to a draw, so Liverpool
were given an opportunity to gain ground in the race for
promotion.

Vicky Jepson gave starts to Amy Rodgers, Ashley Hodson, and
Meikayla Moore. Ashley Hodson was given the point striker role
after impressing playing in several roles against Blackburn, while
Moore was finally given a start in her preferred role as a central
defender. Amy Rodgers got a start in central midfield as she has
worked her way to fitness after an injury layoff. All three would
repay Jepson’s faith with positive performances.

Liverpool were all over Crystal Palace from the off, scoring in
just the second minute of the game. The move was started from
midfield, with a nice pass from Rodgers wide to Rinsola Babajide,
who the played a nice one-two with Rachel Furness on the edge of
the box before bursting towards goal and slotting the ball past the
keeper. It was one of the slickest sequences of the season for the
Reds.

Liverpool kept the pressure on Crystal Palace for the rest of
the half. Amy Rodgers and Razza Roberts bossed the midfield,
leaving Furness free to roam into pockets of space. Rodgers in
particular showed an impressive passing range, playing balls into
dangerous areas for Babajide, Melissa Lawley, Rachel Furness, and
Ashley Hodson.

Hodson, for her part provided intelligent movement up front,
sometimes dropping deep to combine with the midfielders, and at
other times drawing her defender wide to leave gaps for the other
attackers to exploit. Her passing and vision

The other big difference was the Meikayla Moore’s aggressive
play from center back. She was involved several times in the first
half, stepping up into midfield to make a tackle or win a 50-50
ball to break up any chance of a counter.

Liverpool were in the goals again in the 32nd minute, with
Furness again playing provider. The Northern Irish international
slid a pass for the onrushing Amy Rodgers to lash home a
grasscutter into the bottom corner. It was a well deserved goal for
the 20 year old.

The only negative from the first half was Ashley Hodson going
down with what looked like a hamstring injury just two minutes from
halftime. Hodson was replace with Amalie Thestrup as the Reds took
a 2-0 lead into halftime.

Chrystal Palace came out charged up in the second half, and made
the game a scrappy affair for a good 15 minutes before Liverpool
finally took control again. Missy Bo Kearns replaced Amy Rodgers in
a pre-planned sub, and the 19 year old Scouser immediately got
involved with some slide rule passes.

Liverpool generated a bevy of good chances, but couldn’t convert
again until the 75th minute. For the third time of the day, Rachel
Furness provided the assist, but the goal was all about Amalie
Thestrup. Furness played a ball that had Thestrup running at an
angle away from the right side of the goal. She somehow was able to
swivel her hips at full speed to rip a shot back across her body
and across the face of the goal into the inside of the side
netting. It was a stunning strike for Thestrup’s third goal of the
season.

Liverpool were well in control for the rest of the match. The
Reds brought on 16 year old Lucy Parry at left back to give the
consistently stellar Taylor Hinds a rest. Rinsola Babajide stung
the palms of the Crystal Palace keeper with a long range effort,
but the ball was well parried. Babajide wouldn’t be denied again,
however, as the England international tucked away a tidy finish in
extra time for her second, and the teams fourth goal of the
game.

All in all, it was an absolutely dominating performance from a
Liverpool side who had dropped points the previous two games. In
all honesty, it easily could have been a 7-0 or 8-0 win. With the
win, Liverpool stay third in a very crowded top of the table.
Leicester City sit in first with 20 points, while
Durham dropped to second on 19 points. Liverpool are third with 18
points, with Sheffield United nipping at their heels with 17
points.

Liverpool will travel to London City next weekend before a
massive fixture away to Durham in two weeks time. With Liverpool
starting to hit the reverse fixtures, they can’t afford to drop
points in a very tight battle for promotion to the WSL.