Kidderminster Harriers 0-4 Sutton Coldfield Town

After opening with a dramatic 4-3 victory at Crusaders, matchday two brought another tough road trip to face newly promoted Kidderminster Harriers.

The Royals made a couple of changes with Chadlee Kerr and Abbie Hyland replacing Hayley Chatwin and Danni Penn. The bench had a very youthful feel, with Brittany Civil returning, plus three Under 18 players fresh from their excellent win over local rivals Boldmere St Michaels on Saturday.

The game started evenly with the Royals looking dangerous on the break, before the home side enjoyed a period of territorial advantage. Their main danger was coming down the right, with Sophie Griffiths providing pace and quality of delivery.

The Royals defended solidly and carved out a couple of chances that failed to test the home keeper, before being handed a great chance to take the lead when Niamh Deasy was clattered in the box leaving the referee no option but to point to the spot. The home keeper had other ideas and saved well.

However, the visitors weren't to be denied and took the lead on 34 minutes when Jamie-Leigh Fowler neatly side-stepped an onrushing defender and drove home from 20 yards with the aid of a slight deflection.

The home side came back strongly and the Royals were grateful to Lottie McElroy for two key interventions. Firstly she made a stunning one handed save to deny the impressive Griffiths, before swooping to divert a low cross from the toes of Selmes, with skipper Ruth Graham reacting superbly to the loose ball, ensuring the Royals ended a breathless first half with their lead intact.

The second half began as expected with the home side looking to increase the tempo, but the Royals were defending well as a unit, keeping excellent shape and always looking a threat on the counter. The home side were enjoying possession in the wrong areas for their liking and were forced into playing long balls, which wasn't troubling the Royals' back line.

Graham ventured forward on incisive counter and was denied from 25 yards by a great save, before Hyland produced a wonderful left foot cross that Imogen Fisher couldn't quite gather.

As the home side looked to be running out of ideas, the visitors struck. Sophie Levick stole possession and released Deasy. The striker steadied herself before measuring a superb left footed strike across the keeper from 20 yards.

The 2-0 lead was looking comfortable and the gloss was added with a quick fire late double. Fisher found Levick free on the left and she danced past three defenders on the edge of the box before planting a brilliant curling shot into the stanchion that left the keeper rooted. Within 30 seconds it was 4-0, with Deasy breaking clear to calmly slot home for another personal double, which secured her the opposition vote for Player of the Match.

This was an excellent team performance where everyone contributed to securing three points from a difficult fixture with stretched resources.

The Royals open their home campaign this Sunday 19th September (2:00pm) with the visit of Lichfield City. Tickets are available online for contactless admission, or pay at the gate. Admission is £3 Adults / £1 Concessions. Don't forget that a Royals Season Ticket includes admission to all home Women's league games. We hope to see as many of you there as possible.

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