It was good to get back onto the pitch at the first available opportunity in 2020, having lost two matches to the weather just before the Christmas break.

Things started promisingly for West and the first 15 minutes saw us with plenty of the ball and finding good positions in the opposition half. A couple of half chances for Woodsy and Caddy were followed on 13 minutes by some great West play. Rach Dunlop’s shot was saved by the keeper, but her subsequent clearance was taken up by Jami on the left. Her cross is met by a sweet strike from Sophie Bracegirdle, but her shot just keeps rising narrowly above the bar.

On 17 minutes the home team had what was their first proper effort on target. A decent ball from the left catches our backline out and their 8 is on hand to finish well in the centre of goal. A goal against the run of play, but still plenty of hope for West after their good start. 1-0 down.

Unfortunately momentum had now moved Merseyrail’s way. On 21 minutes they had a long range effort fired just over the bar. On 25 minutes, they had the ball in the net again, but it was adjudged to have been kicked out of Leah’s hands when she had control of the ball.

As so often the case, Rach Dunlop was giving us hope and she put a couple of excellent crosses in during the next few minutes, but nobody was there to get on the end of them.

On 32 minutes, Merseyrail doubled their lead. We fail to clear our lines properly, the ball drops kindly for the home team, and a sweet 20 yard strike is rifled into the bottom corner. 2-0.

The home team struck again on 41 minutes. A ball over the top finds their 19 on the edge of the box. Leah can’t react quickly enough and although she gets a hand to the ball, the shot was too powerful. Merseyrail taking a 3-0 lead into the break and West’s promising early start a distant memory.

H-T; Merseyrail 3-0 West

West forced into an early change in the second half, Vyas had a problem with her knee and is replaced by Vicky Kerr.

West spent the next five minutes enjoying a decent spell of pressure in the opposition half, but couldn’t carve out any kind of effort on goal. We made a couple further changes on 57 minutes, Rach Mason and Kath Jones replacing Leah Dolan and H.

The spell of possession continued for a while longer, but it was the home team who had the first real chance of the second half, a decent free-kick met in the area and headed just over.

There was little action to report for most of the remainder of the game. Both teams limited each other to little more than half chances until the 83rd minute when some lovely football from Kath ended with a fine through ball to Rach Dunlop, but her shot is deflected behind and the subsequent corner comes to nothing.

West continued to find the occasional decent through ball, but the home team defended well and saw the game out comfortably.

Better from West in the second half, but the damage was well and truly done in that first period.

Full-time: Merseyrail 3-0 West

Team: Fish (GK), Dolan (Mason 57′), Caddick, Wilman, Bracegirdle, Mitchell (Jones 57′), Frisby, Vyas (Kerr 48′), Hodges, Woods, Dunlop.

Attendance: 30