Somerton and Langport Women 1

Shepton Mallet Women 7

Shepton Mallet moved back to the top of the Somerset County League Second Division with a good 7-1 away win in Langport.

A rough pitch and an opposition playing mainly with nine players behind the ball stopped Shepton from gaining any early control on the game, causing frustration on and off the pitch.

The scrappy start became worse after Somerton took the lead with what turned out to be their only attack of the game. A long ball over the defence was put into an open net after a bobble took the ball away from advancing keeper Steph Gadd's attempted clearance.

As the half wore on, Shepton finally came to terms with the pitch and took control of the game.

Two first-half goals from Lucy Sean put Shepton into a half-time lead, while Jo Robertson and Mikayla Lockey had chances after good attacking runs, and Karen Baird was unlucky after a speculative shot.

The second half was played mainly in the Somerton penalty area and Shepton could easily have reached double figures. Robertson and Leslie Rowan shot over from close in, while Sean, looking for her hat-trick, had two goals disallowed for offside.

Rowan tapped in the third goal after a Sean shot was initially cleared, while Robertson also made several dangerous runs into the box and was rewarded with a quality goal midway through the half.

A first goal in more than three years for Kate Difford, shooting from outside the box, was the highlight for Shepton, but it was Carla Lovell who grabbed two late goals.

Shepton face a difficult away trip to Bishops Lydeard as they look to maintain pole position in the league.