There was a double for Dale Women over the weekend.
They ran out 6-1 winners in their league win over Salford United on Sunday, whilst Good Friday saw them win New Balance Manchester Easter Cup!
Dale finished second in their group, before reaching the final which they won 1-0.
They then carried that into Sunday’s Greater Manchester Women’s Football League Premier Division game, although not without falling behind early on.
Salford had the better of the opening stages and opened the scoring, which they could have added to had it not been for some good saves from Dale goalkeeper Leah Jackson.
Lee Atkinson’s side responded well though and equalised before the breakthrough Shannon Gill, who finished calmly after being put through by Ellie Fergus.
However, there was bad news for Fergus, who suffered what is suspected to be an ACL injury before half-time. We’re sending our best wishes to Ellie who will see a specialist this week.
After the break, Dale had to step up their level, which they did by dominating the ball and limiting Salford to few chances.
That dominance paid off when Gill finished calmly again to put Dale ahead, before Alicia Barnett made it 3-1 with a chipped finish.
Salford were forced to play with ten after this and Dale well and truly took advantage.
Barnett added a fourth after cutting in from the left and clinically firing home, before top scorer Gill secured her hat-trick, beating the offside trap and confidently finding the bottom corner to make it five.
Barnett also secured her hat-trick late on after rounding the goalkeeper and slotting into the empty.
Manager Atkinson commented: “I'm so happy with the players’ performance on Sunday.
“We knew we had to step things up from the first half and we did exactly that.
“Leah Jackson in our goal has been superb for us this season and she showed her quality once again which kept us in the game in a difficult first half.
“I am delighted for both Shannon and Alicia on getting their hat tricks. They were both unplayable in that second half.
“It was really a collective effort. We started to show what we can do as a team and I'm really happy with how every one of them is stepping up and I'm really happy to put three points on the board.
“We know that these next five weeks will be incredibly tough, but we will meet each game head-on and give it everything we have.
“Finally, we really hope that things aren't as bad as first feared with Ellie’s injury. She's been so unlucky with injuries this season and she's such a big part of the team.”
