Beth Merrick and Olivia Fergusson both helped themselves to a brace as Aston Villa put four past Durham on Sunday. Jemma Purfield replied with a stunning drive but the hosts had little to celebrate as they limped to a 4-1 defeat.
Durham were without top scorer Amelia Pereira and Emily Scott through injuries picked up in the recent loss at Oxford, and the Wildcats really struggled to establish themselves in the first half as Villa bossed the play.
The combination of Olivia Fergusson and Katie Wilkinson caused the home defence problems throughout and the latter had the first opportunity of the game when her shot rolled just wide of the near post on 12 minutes.
Villa captain Sherry McCue was keen to try her luck from distance and Alicia Robinson forced Durham keeper Helen Alderson into action soon after.
It was no surprise when, on 27 minutes, Villa took the lead. Beth Merrick timing her run and jump to perfection to meet a deep free kick from the right and head past the stranded Alderson.
Only one point separated the sides at kick off so a tight affair was to be expected, and the home side nearly levelled ten minutes before the break when Beth Hepple set off on a driving run into the box, but couldn’t produce the finish.
Villa came out in the second half with intent and doubled their lead just 6 minutes after the restart after Wilkinson and Fergusson again linked up.
After getting on the end of a through ball following some neat play, Fergusson proved too quick for Alderson as she rounded the keeper to slot home.
The striker then added to her tally for the afternoon on 64 minutes with a deflected effort to make it 3-0.
Despite looking dead and buried, Durham finally found some life about them and minutes after Villa had looked to put the game out of reach, Jemma Purfield went agonisingly close with a superb effort that narrowly missed the top corner.
However the strike proved to be a just tester for Purfield who, with 15 minutes left on the clock, unleashed a rocket from 30 yards to reduce the deficit.
But the Wildcats couldn’t contain the Villains attack for long and they soon restored their 3-goal cushion moment when Beth Merrick was again the first to reach a cross and steer the ball into the back of the net from close range.
The win was warmly welcomed by the visitors, who had previously lost their last two, and Villa boss Joe Hunt was quick to express his delight at the performance after the match.
“I thought we were the better team all game, and I thought that was some of the best football we’ve played all season which is nice to see,” he said.
“Coming off the back of a disappointing defeat last week where we should have won but where we threw it away at the end, they bounced back really well today – fair play to the team for that.”
