Everton moved up to fifth in the Barclay’s Women’s Super League with a fine 3-0 victory over West Ham United on Sunday.
The visitors remain in seventh and will return to Merseyside on Wednesday to face Liverpool at Prenton Park, where Paul Konchesky’s side will look to avoid a fourth consecutive defeat in all competitions.
West Ham's leaky defence had been a problem all season, with the Hammers conceding 19 goals in 11 games prior to kick-off.
Their inability to keep the ball out of the net was immediately proven as they found themselves trailing after only three minutes had been played.
Story of the game
The ball was played to Jess Park from a short corner taken by Nicoline Sorensen. The right-winger whipped in a dangerous ball into the six-yard box that was headed home by Karen Holmgaard to break the deadlock.
The Blues dominance continued and they almost doubled their lead four minutes later through Gabby George. The full-back was found after a tempting low-cross was played into the box, escaping its original targets. George stretched to meet the ball, but skewed her shot wide.
The Toffees threatened again in the tenth minute, but were denied by a superb block by Grace Fisk. Hawa Cissoko cleared the danger and exerted the constant pressure of the Hammers.
Everton were rewarded for their offensive threat and doubled their lead with twelve minutes on the clock. Megan Finnigan marked her return to the starting eleven with another header from a corner. Sorenson provided the assist with a perfectly-weighted set-piece that was met by the head of Finnigan. The ball hit the post on its way in, in what was an unstoppable finish.
The hosts thought they had added a third just after the half hour mark when Sorenson put the ball in the back of the net again. It was ruled out for offside and West Ham took the resulting free-kick quickly, launching a dangerous counter-attack.
Their first chance of the game followed, but Vivian Asseyi's shot was blocked and Everton cleared.
The referee blew his whistle for half-time to conclude a dominant Everton display. They went into the interval with a deserved lead whilst the visitors had work to do.
The Everton dominance continued after the break as Sorenson almost doubled her tally. Jess Park was played through and raced at goal, she took a moment to look up and saw the run of the striker. Park squared it to the Denmark international, but her low cross was intercepted at the last moment by Kirsty Smith who did very well to recover.
At the other end Smith was involved again. She sent an enticing cross into the packed area. It fell to Kate Longhurst who adjusted her body well but sent her half-volley over the bar.
Everton added a third in the 70th minute through substitute, Aggie Beever-Jones, who had only been introduced eight minutes before.
The 19-year-old lifted the crowd to their feet with a stunning effort that rifled into the top-right corner. Aurora Galli, who had also just came off the bench, laid her off perfectly in the middle of the park. Beever-Jones took a touch and arrowed the ball in from 25-yards out to cap off an impressive performance.
West Ham almost grabbed a consolation goal but were denied by the palm of Emily Ramsey to keep her clean sheet intact.
Asseyi's glancing header travelled goalward at pace, with it looking like a certain goal. The shot-stopper reacted rapidly to tip the ball onto the crossbar and deny the forward.
Player of the Match: Jess Park
At the heart of every wave of Everton attack was Jess Park.
The winger was a constant threat throughout the 90 and worked tirelessly to regain possession when her side were without the ball. The 21-year-old made space for others in midfield and played a number of high-quality balls to her teammates in better positions.
A direct and exciting forward, Park was a joy to watch at Walton Hall Park.
