After a strong run of seven games unbeaten, it took Solihull to silence Peterborough who scored 4 against them at the Armco Stadium. Wem were next and Posh were back at home in Bourne ready to make things right and get an all-important win while everything is still fairly tight at the top of the table.
Wem have struggled with their recent form winning only 2 in the last 5 games and currently sit at the bottom of the table with only Long Eaton United below them. Peterborough have met Wem twice before in the league since July and have beaten them both times so expectations were high but football is a game that you can never truly predict so the team knew to not get complacent.
Defender Evie Driscoll-King who has been on fire for Posh lately, opened up her account for the team by putting the ball in the back of the net after a goal scramble following a corner from Rachel Lawrence on the 12 minute mark.
Wem managed to get a half-decent opportunity 4 minutes later but the ball took an awkward bounce and was no issue for Neive Corry in goal. For the next 10 minutes, it seemed like Posh had lost a little bit of concentration as they struggled with Wem’s attack however, this was short-lived as they flew back with two quick chances in two minutes but unfortunately neither of these found the netting.
With Posh back on the attack, captain Keir Perkins (who recently changed positions to play out wide) lofted in a fantastic cross over the keeper which was cleared off the line only to fall onto the feet of Lawrence to make it 2-0.
With just 4 minutes of regular time to go on the clock, new signing Rosie Axten (from Premier side Stoke) fired in a belter from the edge of the box which the Wem keeper just could not get a hand on and Posh went into the changing rooms 3-0 up.
As the second half got underway both sides had decent chances but it was the captain’s turn this time as Tara Kirk flicked over a wonderful ball and Perkins finished for 4-0 but the captain wasn’t finished! Two minutes later as the ref’s watch hit 56 minutes, Perkins hit the back of the net again for her brace from a perfect long ball delivered in by Jess Driscoll on her first game back for the blues.
As Posh went 5-0 to the good, manager Dan Lawlor decided to make numerous changes to rest some players ready for their next game on Thursday away to Northampton. Perkins and Steward came off for Oliveria and McConville and soon after Mugridge and Lawrence were replaced for Dean and Lawlor.
TRAGEDY! 12 minutes after Posh had used all their substitutions, Axten went down and play stopped. The ref’s watch was at 75 minutes but Axten could not continue and Posh would have to carry on with 10 players!
However, Posh wouldn’t let this stop them as Jess Driscoll fired in an absolute worldie on 81 minutes to make it 6-0! As the game came to a close, action started to slow and the ref blew her whistle for full time. Back to winning ways! 6-0 for Peterborough United!
We were fortunate to have Ruby Red Photography on hand to capture the action.