Ali delighted by SSFC Women's winning run

Alliyah Ali says the lasses “can’t argue too much” with the scoreline after South Shields Women demolished Harrogate Town 5-0 on Sunday.

Five different scorers put the Sulphurites to the sword at the weekend, in a vastly different game to the reverse tie which saw the Mariners come within minutes of losing their unbeaten start.

Nevertheless, goals by Ellie White, Erin Taylor, Jade Dryden, Jaz Elliott-Wood and Ebony Longstaff sealed the deal, and kept Shields top of the NERWFL Premier Division for the time being.

And reflecting on the last two games, Ali is adamant things were better this time round.

“I thought we came into the game much stronger than last week,” she said. “That allowed us to score two goals early on.

“We knew what Harrogate were about and the way they like to play, so we adjusted to our style of play which then worked in our favour.”

After a whirlwind start - the lasses were 2-0 up within 15 minutes - Ali thinks the team slowed down a little, although things sharply refocused after the break in her view.

She added: “I’d say towards the end of the first half, we started to lose a bit of control and that was purely from ourselves.

“I think we got a bit ahead of ourselves and wanted to keep scoring goals rather than drill into our heads that we need to be positionally disciplined, as Matt mentioned in his interview and in the changing rooms at half-time.

“The second half came and I thought the whole team controlled the game really well, and managed it in the way in which we wanted to, which got us a few more goals in doing so.

“The lasses did really well and you can’t argue too much with a 5-0 win to keep our unbeaten run going.”

Finally she reserved some special praise for first-time goalscorer White, who announced herself early on when netting the opener.

“It was nice to see Ellie White on the scoresheet for her first time,” Ali highlighted.

“I’m so happy for her as I believe she’s come such a long way, and has improved a lot since last season, with her confidence on the pitch and ability.

“Now she needs to take that in her stride and keep pushing.”