Alisha Lehmann grabbed her first Everton goal since joining the club on loan in January as the Blues eased past Birmingham City 4-0 in the Women’s Super League.
Fellow January arrival Jill Scott notched her second goal in three matches to put Everton ahead and Swiss forward Lehmann added a second to put the Blues in control at the interval at St George’s Park.
Claire Emslie returned to the squad after featuring off the bench against Manchester City at the weekend and she extended the lead for Willie Kirk’s side in the second half with a perfectly-weighted lob from 25 yards.
Substitute Simone Magill capped off a fantastic team performance in the closing minutes with a stunning half volley from long range.
Goalscoring account opened 🔓@lehmann_alisha ⚡️pic.twitter.com/SN8mIxPnb3
— Everton Women (@EvertonWomen) March 11, 2021
There were more injury concerns for Kirk in the opening stages of the match as keeper Sandy MacIver came deep out of her goal and collided with former Everton forward Claudia Walker.
The England international was shown a yellow card for the incident and she was replaced by Finnish shot stopper Tinja-Riikka Korpela – who made her first start of the season in the return fixture last month.
The Toffees broke the deadlock with 10 minutes remaining in the first half when Scott swept in a clever finish from 10 yards after a driving run and assist from Hayley Raso on the right-hand side.
Jamie-Lee Napier almost tied the scores immediately for the hosts when she broke in behind the Everton defence. Her curling effort from the edge of the penalty flashed just wide of the woodwork.
Lehmann extended the Toffees lead with her first goal since joining Everton on loan from West Ham in January.
On the stroke of half-time, the Swiss forward met Emslie’s looping cross from the right with a powerful header into the far corner.
Scott almost grabbed her second of the match deep into injury-time, but she rattled the crossbar with a rasping effort inside the Birmingham penalty area.
Scottish international Emslie notched a third for Everton early on in the second half when she punished a poor defensive error with an inch-perfect lob from the edge of the penalty area.
Magill grabbed her fourth goal of the season in the dying embers of the game when she strode onto a loose ball and smashed a dipping effort from 25 yards over the head of Hannah Hampton and into the back of the net.
Everton dominated the game throughout the second half and it was a well-earned clean sheet against the hosts who were confined to their second 4-0 defeat in as many games.
The three points sees the Blues remain in fourth place in WSL, closing the gap on third-placed Arsenal to four points – although the Gunners have a game in hand still to play.
The Toffees return to action next Wednesday when they host title-chasing Chelsea at Walton Park Hall (7pm GMT).
