Durham return to winning ways in spectacular fashion, with a long-awaited convincing victory at Maiden Castle.
Putting Forest to the sword in the first opening 35, the fixture expanded into a game of two halves, in which Durham’s defensive display in the second 45 was equally impressive.
From the opening whistle, it seemed Durham were really up for it, pressing tirelessly immediately to find the opener early on. And find it they did. Racing behind on the counter, striker Poppy Pritchard laid the ball down the right hand side of the box to an unmarked Mollie Lambert, firing home for her a second consecutive goalscoring appearance.
And before the Durham faithfuls’ celebrations even had the chance to settle, it was the hosts that found themselves two to the good, bagging a second the following minute. Doubling her assist ratio on the afternoon, Poppy Pritchard found the right pass again, finding the racing Beth Hepple in the box to tap home her fourth goal this season.
Finally, to mark her return to the eleven following a short absence through injury, our very own Venezuelan star Mariana Speckmaier found space in the box to connect with winger Blake’s pinpoint cross, to net the third and final goal of the game.
Whilst Forest grew into the game upon the hour mark, Durham’s concentration and outstanding pressing never wavered, showcasing real determination and grit to see the game over the line.
Equal to everything thrown at her, Durham goalkeeper Sheppard was ever-present to deny the Forest efforts; and pairing this with the defensive unit’s excellent contribution, the girls deservedly earned themselves their first clean sheet since the opening day of the season.
An excellent performance against a strong Nottingham Forest side, Durham will be hoping to use this first win in 5, and a dominant one at that, to really kick on, and gain some traction in the league over the coming weeks.