THE Oxton Lionesses left their lair on Saturday to secure a win at local rivals Neston, in what is always a keenly anticipated fixture, writes Ali Mealor.

Having started their campaign strongly this season, the girls were keen not to drop any points in this often hotly-contested match.

With injury and illness threatening to dampen the spirits, Oxton got off to a slow, steady start, and despite pressuring the opposition goal, Oxton could not find a way through the Neston defence.

Part-way through the first half, the deadlock was broken, but it was Neston that dealt the first blow.

A well-struck short corner to put the home side into a 1-0 lead.

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This seemed to awaken the lionesses, the girls fought back and it wasn't long before their hard work paid off.

Oxton earned themselves a short corner which Lucy Jamieson brilliantly deflected past the keeper to find the back of the net and get the visitors back on equal terms at 1-1.

Oxton started to find their stride and a well-worked attack down the right was calmly converted by Taryn Rostenne to give the girls a 2-1 lead at half-time.

Going into the second half, the girls were determined not to let their unbeaten record slip.

They worked hard as a team to  build the pressure once again and it wasn't long before their patience paid off, this time Jules Armstrong finding the net.

Neston continued to try to find a way through the Oxton press, but at each attempt their efforts were thwarted by a composed and determined Oxton defence.

The final blow came from a quick turnover that found Carrie  O’Callaghan out wide on the right, Holly Mealor used her speed to take advantage of the space and slipped the ball past the Neston defence to Taryn who was lurking at the top of the D.

Taryn's fantastic first-time strike found the bottom left-hand corner to finish the game 4-1.