Liverpool Women move top of Continental Cup group with…

Liverpool Women move top of Continental Cup group with 4-0 win over Leicester City

Liverpool Women cruised past Leicester City 4-0 on Wednesday night to move top of group B in the FA Women's Continental League Cup.

Matt Beard made eight changes to the side that fell to a 2-0 defeat to Arsenal in the league at the weekend. 18-year-old Hannah Silcock was named in the starting line-up for the second time this season alongside Jasmine Matthews in the heart of the defence.

Carla Humphrey and Charlotte Wardlaw both made their second starts of the campaign, while Missy Bo Kearns returned to the fold after being named on the bench against the Gunners on Sunday. Liverpool dominated proceedings in the early stages at the Pirelli Stadium and it didn't take them long to find a breakthrough as Kearns fired them in front after 14 minutes.

The hosts, who also named a heavily changed starting line-up, had the chance to draw level soon after as youngster Monique Robinson drilled an effort off the crossbar. Liverpool doubled their lead shortly after the 30 minute mark, Rhiannon Roberts towered above everyone in the box to head home from a corner.

Rachel Furness made it three on the brink of half-time, the Northern Ireland international did well to win back possession in a dangerous area and unleash a fantastic curled effort into the top corner. Substitute Katie Stengel capped off a dominant performance in the second-half with a fantastic strike from the edge of the area, leaving City goalkeeper Demi Lambourne with no chance.

Liverpool move top of group B with two wins from two, although Manchester City have played one less game so far. Beard was delighted with his team's performance on the night and believes they've answered questions asked of them in recent weeks.

He said post-match: "I was pleased, we changed the system tonight and we'd only worked on it for a short period of time yesterday. We have been dropping into that (formation) in the back end of some games over the last month, so I was pleased with how we adapted to that.

"I'm pleased with the goals. I thought Furney (Furness) and Stengel's were fantastic strikes. It was good to score from open play, there's been a lot of questions asked about creating chances but not converting them. Tonight we managed to do that, which was really pleasing."

It was a big night for academy graduate Silcock, who only recently signed her first professional contract with the club. The defender put in a solid performance at the back, despite facing tough battles against the likes of City's Natasha Flint.

"Hannah has come on leaps and bounds," Beard continued. "She's getting fitter every week and getting stronger. From that perspective, we're really pleased with how she's progressing. Especially trying to balance education and football this year, as well as England camps.

"She's got a lot on her plate at the moment. The most important thing is we keep getting her stronger, that's the focus for the first six months of her professional contract. She's certainly going to be a talent in the future."

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