SWINDON Town Ladies turned up the heat in extraordinary style against locals rivals Spitfires on Wednesday night, emerging as 9-2 winners after a frantic start to the Premier League South West Division One clash.
Manager Steve Robertson had warned earlier in the week that his girls must not take anything for granted going into the tie, and should approach the Spitfires game expecting it to be anything but a walkover.
Heeding his words, Town got off to a flying start as Beth Westlake wasted no time in stamping her name on the scoresheet.
Spitfires fought back instantly, with a goal from Katie Wadey bringing the tie back to level pegging.
Raising their game in response to the resistance of their opponents, Robertson’s side soon struck once more, Sarah Uzzell finding the net before Abbey Picton added a third with a fine effort.
Now in the ascendancy, Town did not let their foot off the gas and were instead ruthless in their approach. Picton and Westlake soon added their second goals of the evening to make the scoreline a healthy 5-1.
As half-time approached, it was Alice Smith’s turn to step into the limelight, as she smashed in a spectacular half-volley just before the interval.
Returning for the second period, Town clearly had not lost any of their momentum from the previous 45 minutes of play.
Meg Attenborough made it seven for Robertson’s side, before Ellie Maynard added an eighth.
Spitfires showed some signs of life, managing to pull back a second courtesy of Beth Turner, yet this came as no form of consolation as Beth Westlake added her third of the evening.
Speaking to Total Sport following the remarkable win, manager Steve Robertson said: “It’s another three points, so foremost I’m really pleased with that.
“The girls really pulled together and it was a team effort all round tonight.”
Despite the scoreline, Robertson maintained it is important to remain grounded when considering the performance.
“If I had to be critical I would say we didn’t even hit our top gear tonight, but when you’re beating your opponent quite comfortably that can happen,” he said.
Robertson however was keen to credit both the strength and unity of his squad following the win.
“We had to leave some girls out tonight, like Tasha Perry, because we had so many,” he said.
“But players like that I think would walk into most teams in this league, so that shows the depth we have here.
“Even the girls that did not play tonight came down, took part in the warm up and supported from the sides, you wouldn’t see that at most clubs.”
The victory sets Town up well for what is an important string of upcoming games.
“Tonight was a good confidence boost and good for our goal difference, I told the girls the next four games we have are massive and we need to take this win and move on now,” said Robertson.
“We prepared cautiously for the game and I think that paid off.”
While acknowledging a fantastic team effort, Robertson did save some words for hat-trick hero of the evening, Beth Westlake.
“Beth has taken her goals well, she plays off confidence and when she’s on top of her game it’s clear,” he said.
“She had the full-back on toast on several occasions, and when she’s high on confidence we know she can beat defences purple.”
Looking ahead to the weekend, Robertson is confident his side can be even better.
“I think what is positive is that we can honestly be even better at weekend, and we’ll be working towards that now,” he said.