AFC Bournemouth Women forward, Sophie Quirk, hailed the 2-1 win over Oxford United at the Vitality Stadium as “unbelievable”, after her stunning goal helped send the Cherries top of the league.
Despite having been promoted last season, Bournemouth have been in fine form and continue to compete against tier three opponents, including Oxford.
Quirk and Charlotte Harris put the Cherries two up within 16 minutes, before the Yellows pulled one back late on through Shaunna Jenkins.
The Bournemouth number 12, who is currently the women’s top scorer this season, said on afcb.co.uk: “To get the three points against an established tier-three team is unbelievable.
“It was such a good team performance. Everyone ran their socks off and it was brilliant.”
Quirk’s curling finish was her 12th goal in all competitions this season.
“We spoke about getting shots off early in the game, so when I knew I was near the edge of the box, I thought I’d just hit one early on and thankfully it went in quite well.”
Helen Bleazard, former player and now head coach, told AFCBTV: “I thought it was a really strong start from us, to get the two goals that early on was really, really pleasing.”
“I feel like we dominated that game and we definitely deserved the three points.”
Bleazard was part of the team that won the FA Women’s National League Division One South West at the Vitality in March, following a 2-0 win against Bristol Rovers.
The victory over Oxford was the sixth game for AFC Bournemouth’s women side at the men’s ground, they are unbeaten in all those matches, winning five.
Defender, Jess Hennessey who played 90 minutes, said: “Playing under the lights made it even more special. Oxford played a great game and I’d say it was one of our best performances this season.
“The pitch is just unbelievable to play on and we showed our quality. Char [Charlotte Harris] with her right boot and Sophie [Quirk] with her left, they were just unreal.”
The starting line-up also saw the inclusion of Wales under-19 international, Elena Cole, who has just returned from international duty against Switzerland.
She said: “I’ve played in front of a few hundred but not 5,000. It’s a bit mad and overwhelming to be honest. I wanted to start singing ‘Boscombe, back of the net’ on a corner but I had to keep serious.
“My family couldn’t be there because it was a weeknight and a bit of an awkward one, but I had my friends from here and the people I live with here and that was so nice to feel a bit of home.”
Carrying the good feeling into the rest of the season, the Cherries now face a trip to AFC Wimbledon on Sunday as they look to continue their unbeaten run.
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