It proved to be a positive afternoon for Wanderers Women, securing a 6-0 victory over Rochdale at Lostock in a behind-closed-doors friendly on Sunday afternoon.
Madison Hardman grabbed a hat-trick on the day, with Faye Knox, Abbie Brown and a trialist also on the scoresheet in a game that saw lot of attacking intent and quality.
The home side immediately started on the front foot and within five minutes, Hardman had tested the ‘keepers reflexes when chasing down a through ball from Hannah Baldwin but was denied at full stretch.
The tone had been set however, and the same partnership of Baldwin and Hardman combined again just a few minutes later in opening the space for the forward to burst through, but a scrambling Rochdale defender managed to clear.
Wanderers were constantly threatening the Dale back-line, however, and Knox was becoming increasingly involved in the encounter and was picked out by Hardman inside the area - with her initial touch off and taking her wide before getting her shot away - but sliced her effort wide.
Knox went even closer to breaking the deadlock when beating two defenders and letting fly from 25 yards but saw her strike clip the crossbar on the way over.
Ocean Flanagan, who was her typically lively self during the afternoon, had a guilt-edge chance to open the scoring when receiving a through ball from Hardman to burst through one-v-one with just the ‘keeper to beat but missed the target when aiming for the top corner.
The goal was coming, however, and got their reward just passed the half hour mark. A ball over the top into the left channel was chased down by Knox, before driving into the penalty area and drilling an effort towards goal.
The effort was only half saved, with the ricochet from the ‘keepers legs diverting it over the line to hand the Whites the lead.
It was one-way traffic and Wanderers were inches away from making it two just before half-time when a Brown cross was met by Charlotte Tyers.
Her connection cannoned back off the post into her path, but the ‘keeper made a brilliant clawed save to push the ball off-the-line and away from danger to keep the score to just one at the break.
Within a minute of the second half getting underway, Wanderers had doubled their lead. A through ball was on the money for Hardman to chase onto and she finished emphatically into the bottom corner.
Two quickly became three with arguably the goal of the afternoon that saw a number of players involved in a free-flowing move.
Caitlin Clarke, Lucy Walsh, Flanagan, Millie Smith, Brown and then Knox all worked the ball from back-to-front ended with the wingback squaring the ball expertly across the six-yard box for Hardman to apply the simple finish.
In their full flow now, Wanderers added a fourth goal with Tyers at the heart of it. A lovely turn into space freed herself from her defender, allowing her to thread a perfect through ball into Hardman to go through one-v-one and she applied an assured finish to claim an eight-minute hat-trick.
In complete control, Myles Smith’s side went on the hunt for more goals and defender Walsh went close to adding to the tally with a header from a Knox corner but a smart save from the keeper down to her right denied her.
Walsh then turned provider with a superb diagonal pass to land at the feet of Knox, allowing her to beat her defender and power a strike towards the top corner but a superb save from the substitute ‘Dale keeper denied her.
The game was edging towards its conclusion, but Wanderers still had time for two more goals.
First, the trialist won possession deep inside the Rochdale half to let fly with an effort from a tight angle to find the top corner nicely, before Brown sealed victory with the final kick of the afternoon after a goalmouth scramble to make it six.
With victory in the bag, it proved to be a positive work out for the hosts, who now have two more weeks before their first game of the new season, when travelling to take on Darwen.
Wanderers: Lester (GK), Clarke, Walsh, Baldwin (C), Brown, Trialist, M.Smith, Knox, Tyers, Flanagan, Hardman.
Subs: Trialist, Trialist, Wallis