The Olympia Warriors have pulled to within one point of the lead on the MyState Women's Super League table with an emphatic 7-2 win over the Devonport Strikers at Valley Road. Led by a stunning four-goal performance from winger Madi Chambers, the Warriors overcame a plucky Strikers outfit that fought hard throughout but ran out of steam late.
Right from the first kick-off it looked like there could be plenty of goals to come as both sides threatened early and often. The Strikers had the first chances of the game through Jazmin White and Madeline Payne but neither could hit the target, before White found the back of the net but was offside in the build-up. At the other end Chambers was already looming large over the contest, consistently beating her marker down the line and crossing dangerously. She looked to have set up Mia Cane in the middle for the game's first goal, but her shot from close range was well saved and tipped over the crossbar by Strikers goalkeeper Georgia Anderson.
With all of that action inside the first ten minutes a goal to open the scoring seemed inevitable, and it was the Strikers that struck first in the 13th minute. A low cross from the left from Renske Rombouts snuck past new Warriors goalkeeper Kacee Ponting and made it all the way to the back post, where it was tapped into the empty net by Nikita Boyd.
That gave the home side an early lead, but it lasted just three minutes before Olympia hit back to equalise through Meghan Goscombe. It was Chambers again starting the play with a run down the left sideline, as this time her cross into the middle was cleared away by the defence. They could only scramble it to the back of the penalty area, though, where Goscombe collected the loose ball and sent a shot across the goal and in from a tight angle.
The goal seemed to settle the Warriors and they pushed hard to take the lead before the break. Chambers was denied one-on-one by Anderson, Innocent Michael had one effort saved and another just off target, and Cane sent her shot straight at the goalkeeper. The dam wall finally broke at the half hour mark through a piece of brilliance from Chambers. After receiving the ball at the top of the area but in plenty of traffic, she somehow spun through three defenders while keeping possession before sliding a shot past Anderson at the near post.
That should have put Olympia firmly in the box seat given their dominance in general play, but the Strikers provided one last twist to even the scores once more in stoppage time. This time the play started with Boyd on the right, and she picked out Ava Wyllie in the middle with time to assess. As White made a curling run around and behind her marker, Wyllie played a perfect ball that split the defence and found White for and open shot that she duly finished to make it 2-2 at half time.
After an even opening to the second half, a costly mistake from the Strikers defence handed the Warriors a chance to take back the lead. A loose pass across the backline was picked off by Chambers, and she she carried the ball into the area, slipped it past the goalkeeper and finished for her second of the day. Not deterred by falling behind for a second time, the Strikers dominated the ensuing ten minutes and should have pulled themselves back level but for some wastefulness in front of goal. Payne saw one shot cannon off the crossbar and another two well saved by Ponting, and a handful more attempts from her teammates flew off target in all directions.
That wayward shooting came back to bite them not long after, as the Warriors slammed home four goals in less than 15 minutes to bury the contest. It was another defensive turnover that opened the door for Olympia's fourth goal of the game as a lazy pass from Anderson was cut out by Chambers. With the defence out of shape and unprepared, she waltzed forward and shot easily past the goalkeeper to complete her hat-trick. She added an assist to her tally three minutes later with another cross to the back post, and this time it was Ella McConnon that was able to bring the ball down, beat her defender and finish from close range.
Another six minutes ticked off the clock and Chambers, surely full of confidence at this point, picked up the ball deep in her defensive half and took off down the left. After racing past three defenders at full speed and carrying the ball all the way into the attacking area, she was dragged down at the last line of defence to win a penalty for the Warriors. Mia Cane stepped up to take the spot kick and coolly converted for her side's sixth goal. They rounded out the scoring with just under ten minutes left, and Chambers put the cherry on top with a strike from the edge of the box that flew past Anderson and into the top corner. That gave her four goals for the game and earned Olympia a 7-2 win at the final whistle.