Burnley Ladies 0

Mond Rangers Ladies 4

THE home side surely couldn't help but notice the absence of Mond's prolific goalscorer and their goalkeeping captain but they hardly made the most of the advantage.

Mond Rangers gave Lauren McCormack her senior debut who quickly found her feet to give Burnley's left full-back plenty to think about and as Mond eventually adapted to the difficult conditions Louise Dixon lifted the ball over a static defence to find Jenny Young who scored from an acute angle.

Two minutes before half-time Helen Cann scored another spectacular goal with a volley from the edge of the box high into the corner of the net.

Mond Rangers seemed to get bogged down in the mud again after the restart but the introduction of another debutant, Michelle Cooper, injected more pace up front.

Emma Payne, deputising in goal made a vital save pushing Burnley's only goalbound shot away for a corner to keep Mond 2-0 ahead.

After 25 minutes a couple of headed flicks by Lauren McCormack and Harriet Miller gave Jenny Young the opportunity to chip the keeper for her second goal of the game.

Michelle Cooper was twice thwarted by the goalkeeper's flailing legs when heading goalwards but she couldn't be denied the joy of her first goal for Mond when Louise Dixon's corner-kick bounced in off her knee.

The scene is now set for the big showdown at Stockport County Ladies in two weeks time which could prove to be a real title decider.

Converted for the new archive on 13 March 2001. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.