Merseyrail Ladies continued their perfect home record as they won 2-0 against West Didsbury and Chorlton AFC at Admiral Park.

Terrible weather conditions played their part in south Liverpool as both teams struggled to play full-flowing football.

But the home side ran out victors courtesy of two penalties in the first half, one from Charlotte Cloy on 13 minutes, and the other from Chelcee Grimes on the stroke of half-time.

Going into the game, Merseyrail had won all four of their home games this season and sat top of the league.

However West Didsbury proved a tough test having won three of their last four games and sitting sixth in the table.

In the first 10 minutes, the home side almost opened the scoring.

Kayleigh Brand passed the ball out to the left-hand side, and Cloy’s lung-busting run meant she was able to deliver a first time cross to the near post which was met by Ellise Newby whose header rattled the crossbar.

Merseyrail vs West Didsbury and Chorlton AFC at Admiral Park.

Then came the penalty incident.

Cloy’s long-range shot from the centre of the pitch was handballed by West Didsbury’s number 5, which forced the referee to point to the spot.

Up stepped Cloy who deposited the ball into the right side of the net to make it 1-0.

West Didsbury’s best chance of a snowy and wet first half happened 10 minutes before half time as Taylor Gunn found herself one-on-one with Millie Critchley, but the goalkeeper remained unbeaten as she saved with a defiant right hand to deny Gunn.

As the first half was due to end, the scoreline doubled.

A mesmerising run from Grimes down the right-hand side left two players beaten, the latter fouling Grimes and the referee once again awarded a penalty.

Grimes stepped up and fired the ball into the right side to extend her team’s advantage before the break.

The physical toll of the first half was clear to see in the second.

Within 10 minutes a West Didsbury player was forced off to what it seems was a cold-related illness.

The second half was largely uneventful as both teams traded long distance shots for much of the half.

It wasn’t until the last 10 minutes when chances started appearing for the away side.

Firstly, Gunn was played through, past Merseyrail’s defence, and appeared to have a clear chance to reduce the deficit for her team.

But a last-ditch sliding tackle from Georgia Wood thwarted her progress and kept the scoreline at 2-0.

Then, in the last action of the game, the referee penalised Critchley for handling outside her box when attempting to drop kick the ball.

A free-kick was awarded and the looping effort forced Critchley into a brilliant one-handed save to atone for her previous mistake.

Merseyrail have now won all five of their games at home this season as they stay top of the league with 25 points after 10 games of the season.

Merseyrail’s next game is an away derby against Mossley Hill on December 12.

After the game, Merseyrail manager Lee Austin spoke to Merseysportlive about the result.

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