A LIGHTNING start proved vital for Swindon Spitfires as they romped to a 5-0 victory away at Stoke Lane Athletic.

The visitors were two up inside the first seven minutes and from there went on to control the contest to claim a comfortable victory.

The first goal came in the fifth minute when Ria Salleh pulled the ball back for left back Debbie Rose to fire over Harriet Hoare in the home goal from 15 yards out.

Two minutes later Beth Turner’s pressure on the Stoke right back won Spitfires a corner which Sammie Smith delivered onto the head of Rose who couldn’t get the direction she wanted, but the ball dropped kindly for Salleh to hook it home.

With the Bristol side playing with a lone striker in front of a midfield five they had the advantage in the middle of the park, but were unable to breach Spitfires’ back line with little in the way of options going forward when they did have possession.

Spitfires, on the other hand, were always a threat going forwards and the third goal came with half an hour to go as Hayley Huckin’s threaded ball eventually arrived back at her feet from Coombs, allowing her to fire home.

Another Smith corner found Rose’s head and she made no mistake as she powered the ball past the helpless keeper for the fourth, with Emma Skinner firing home the final goal of the afternoon with a well-struck effort from the edge of the area.

The win takes Spitfires into second spot in the South West Women’s League Premier Division as they move two points clear of Cheltenham, although the Gloucestershire side have four games in hand.

Spitfires’ reserves atoned for last week’s cup exit at Melksham Town by winning their league game there 4-2 with Zofia Stepien, Katie Wadey, Morgan Whitaker, and Diane George on target.

In the Oxford Girls League Spitfires’ under 15s travelled to Didcot and returned to winning ways with a 5-1 win to maintain their position in second place. Spitfires took the lead when Amy Connaghan slotted past the keeper before Dani Granato’s cross allowed Poppy Cottrill to slot home number two.

Before Didcot could recover, they found themselves three behind when Cottrill slipped a ball into the path of Chiarna Deller who side-footed home. Spitfires put the game beyond doubt when Charlie Reynolds found Cottrill whose pace took her beyond the last line of defence before driving home a cool shot, with Granato scoring the final goal.

The club’s under 14s who drew 3-3 with Chesham United with goals coming from Helena Butcher, Chantelle Scott and Skye Peters, while the under 12s were 7-0 winners at Carterton Town in the Oxford League. Aimee Prinzi scored four while Genevieve Bayliss added two and Shannon King scored once, while the under 13s won their Wiltshire League game 4-0 against Frome Town with Lois Beer and Georgia Brown netting a brace each.

The under 12s Wiltshire League team finally managed their first win of the season as Kimberley Jackson’s treble helped them to a 4-1 win against Westbury.