KS Cougars 6,

Plym Valley 0

KS returned to league action last Saturday with

an emphatic victory against Plym Valley in a ­display that sets the standard for their future ­performances.

With good opening pressure KS upgraded for a short corner with five minutes gone. Captain Chloe Harvey's lightning injection was trapped

by Helen Symons for Laura Kerly to fire an unstoppable shot from top D at the right corner to open the scoring. At full stretch the Plym Valley 'keeper could only manage a toe touch that deflected the ball into the roof of the net.

KS continued to apply pressure as Plym Valley tried to rally with good use of the width; this called Gemma Harvey and Rachel Roberts into action with a high press and great overlapping to provide waves of interceptions against the breaks.

With 25 minutes gone the Cougars' lead was extended when Emily Read drew her marker then rolled out and broke from midfield to release Heather-Jo Webber on the right wing. Driving towards the D, Webber connected with Symons for a slick one-two, picking up the return pass at pace and driving on goal. With great stick-on-ball technique, Webber carried on the angle and slotted home on the run to finish a great passing move.

Plym Valley won a series of short corners on the counter that the KS defence held at bay, 'keeper Claire Jones kicking strongly out of the melee and Symons tracking back to sweep clear.

Just before half time KS made it three as Lou Read held possession in midfield to create the angle on the 25 before delivering the perfect crash ball towards the far post, with a touch from Kerly angling the ball wider across the D.

Cutting in from the left wing Sarah Budgen attacked the space in front of her marker and clipped home with a superb first-time finish to see the Cougars finish the half three goals ahead of their opponents.

With the game under control at half time, ­coaches Ash Wyeth and Mikey Dennis focused KS on maintaining the pressure and continuing to access the space they were creating out wide.

The use of width paid off five minutes into the second half as a slipped ball from midfield to Kerly was played out wide to Budgen. As Kerly worked hard to get high Budgen played the return pass into the attacker's path and, with two simple passes taking the entire Plym Valley defence out of the equation, Kerly made short work of slotting home past the 'keeper to take KS 4-0 up.

Turning over possession from the restart KS won another short corner, which Symons stepped up to receive. Showing great technique, the pint-sized dynamo unleashed a blistering drag flick, which looked certain to find the net until it clipped the upright and rebounded into the D.

With KS looking much sharper on the shortie follow-ups, Webber was perfectly placed to trap the rebound and slip past the stranded keeper on her reverse for 5-0.

With 110 per cent commitment from every player on the pitch, the Cougars were delivering a phenomenal standard of play. Lucy Croft took over at left back for the half and showed textbook technique in the tackle to deny her opposite number.

A key feature of the Cougars' success was the work put in by all the players to link up and layer their tackles; this denied Plym Valley time and space to play and frequently forced them to outlet back towards their own goal, gaining ground for KS and creating a staggering turnover rate in possession. Showing the way, Fi Wadey was tireless in pairing up with her teammates down the left side, glove on the floor as an unbeatable barrier.

With depth through the squad, Mel Showler looked strong on the ball before coming close to extending the lead as she showed great bodyshape in the D to react quickly to a ball at the back post. KS junior Fern Tucker was more than a match for her opposite number as she lit up the right wing and crowned her spell with the perfect nutmeg to beat her marker and break into space.

With the Cougars firing on all cylinders, Symons claimed the assist again in the closing minutes, breaking from another turnover in ­midfield and showing great awareness on the ball to play a defence-splitting pass through to Kerly, who slotted home from close range to complete her hat-trick and close out the win.

Over post-match teas at the Ring O' Bells, the woman of the match award went to Sarah Budgen as the shining star in 14 flawless performances, which have seen the Cougars dominating throughout the line-up and on this occasion delivering their best team performance to date.