Northampton Town Women won 7-3 at home to Leek Town in the FA Women’s National League Division One Midlands on Sunday afternoon.
Jade Bell scored four, Alex Dicks netted a brace and Kim Farrow bagged the Cobblers’ other goal as they returned to league action with a victory.
Joint-managers Josh Oldfield and Liam Williams made two changes to the side that were knocked out of the FAWNL Plate by Northern Premier Division outfit Derby County last week, as Holly Mayfield and Dicks replaced Katie McLean and Paige Ridley in the starting line up.
Leek opened the scoring inside two minutes as Katie Maya controlled and finished from Danielle Ebsworth’s cross despite a touch from Mayfield.
Farrow equalised for the Cobblers five minutes later when she turned Dicks’ low ball across goal home from close range.
Bell placed into the bottom corner from another Dicks cross to turn the game on its head within three minutes.
Dicks curled into the bottom corner from the penalty spot after Mia Richards was brought down by ‘keeper Harriet Grimshaw as the Cobblers doubled their lead on the quarter-of-an-hour mark.
Bell finished-off a fine passing move involving captain Zoe Boote, Dicks and Farrow to double her tally on the half-hour and Dicks controlled Richards’ forward pass and fired home her second goal before the break.
Half-time substitute Chantelle Gallagher smashed home to pull a goal back for Leek midway through the second half, but Bell completed her hat-trick by nodding Farrow’s flick-on over Grimshaw a few minutes later.
The striker broke through to add her fourth and the Cobblers’ seventh soon after, but their opponents netted the game’s final goal almost straight from kick-off when Manuela Delle converted from a tight angle.
The Cobblers host FAWNL Southern Premier Division side Ipswich Town in the Women’s FA Cup first round proper next week. The tie will kick-off at 2pm at Fernie Fields Sports Ground. Season tickets are NOT valid for this fixture. Individual match tickets are available at ntfcdirect.co.uk and on the gate.
Cobblers: Holly Mayfield, Laila Channell, Vicky Barrett, TJ Warren, Zoe Boote, Annie Villamartin, Mia Richards, Fay Noble, Alex Dicks, Jade Bell, Kim Farrow
Substitutes: Paige Ridley, Elloise Copson, Bianca Luttman, Rhea Patel