The Bluebirds maintained their 100% home record with a dominant 5-1 victory over Aberystwyth Town on Sunday afternoon.
Iain Darbyshire made two changes from last week’s derby win, with Kerry Walklett and Ffion Price returning to the starting eleven.
City started brightly and were rewarded for their early pressure after just six minutes. Mackenzie Olden broke into space down the right before delivering a low cross for Walklett, who fired powerfully past Sophie Steele to give the Bluebirds the lead.
Minutes later, the advantage was doubled. After a sustained spell of possession, Olden found time inside the box to place a precise low strike into the bottom corner to extend City's’ lead to two. Aberystwyth Town pulled once back through Lily-Moralee Hughes, whose long distance shot was out of reach for Ceryn Chamberlain.
Just before half-time, City restored their two-goal cushion. A thunderous strike from Price was parried by Steele, but the rebound fell kindly for Laura Curnock, who smashed home from close range to make it 3-1.
The Bluebirds continued their dominance after the break and were soon rewarded again. Following a driving run from Olden, she was brought down inside the area, allowing Curnock to step up and convert from the spot for her second of the afternoon.
City kept the pressure on, with substitute Maddison Perrott testing Steele from distance with a powerful 25-yard effort. In stoppage time, the Bluebirds’ ruthlessness in front of goal was on full display. Olden grabbed her second with a composed finish past Steele, before Scarlett Baker-Perry added a sixth, turning home from close range to cap off a comprehensive performance.
Next up, the Bluebirds travel to Wrexham on October 12th for a top-of-the-table clash.
MATCH REACTION | DARBYSHIRE & OLDEN
After the full-time whistle, head coach Iain Darbyshire said: “I thought we were really good today. We’re developing some great habits - scoring a lot of goals in the first half and taking big leads into the second half.
“There are definitely still areas of our game where we can improve, but to score six goals today, I’m very happy with that. Our reflection and reaction since the TNS game have been excellent, and long may that continue.
“Next week against Wrexham will be a different kind of test, but we’re very confident in what we’re doing and how we’re playing at the moment.”
Mackenzie Olden, who delivered a standout performance, added: “I feel like I’ve really been thriving over the last few weeks. Iain and my teammates have put a lot of trust in me, and that’s given me a huge boost of confidence to go out there and produce these kinds of performances.
“To score plenty of goals today and to get the ball rolling was great. It was a really good day for us.
“We’re definitely on the right path this season. It’s so important for us to be dominating games from start to finish, and we’re putting ourselves in great positions to do exactly that.”