Chris Church hails best performance of season so far

Interim head coach Chris Church felt Swansea City Women had turned in their best performance of the season as they earned a dominant 4-0 win over Aberystwyth Town Women.

Captain Katy Hosford put the Swans ahead early on, sliding a shot underneath the Aberystwyth goalkeeper, before turning provider as her corner set up Jess Williams to double the visitors’ lead before the interval.

Hosford was among the goals again after the break, heading home a superb cross from Chloe Chivers to make it three, before Monet Legall topped off an excellent performance with the Swans’ fourth goal.

Church was proud of his side’s performance, and was delighted to make it four wins from four.

“The performance matched everything we talked about all week,” said Church.

“We knew they would have a game plan and I think we countered that really well, the players really rolled their sleeves up when they needed to.

“Some of the football we played  was probably the best we’ve played all season.

“I think it’s a massive statement for us, to win away from home is always tough and we’ve always known Aberystwyth has been a tough place to come.

“To put in a performance and score the goals that we did, it stands us in good stead going forward.”

Church had particular words of praise for skipper Hosford, who was involved in all four of Swansea’s goals.

“Since I’ve came in Katy has really taken that mantle of a leader,” he said.

“She’s not the only one in the team, but she’s really driven on the squad and set the example for the rest. She’s capped off a good performance with those two goals.

“You can’t rely on one or two for the goals, it needs to be a collective unit sometimes, it shows we have a great attacking arsenal and that we can break teams down in other ways.

“We know it’s the south Wales derby next, but for me nothing changes, the mentality stays the same and we will give it everything we’ve got.”

Church was also pleased to be able to give a first-team debut to goalkeeper Opal Rayner.

The 16-year-old shot stopper featured across the Swans pre-season schedule, before making her proper senior bow in the dominant win over Aberystwyth and marking it with a clean sheet.

“I think it really shows that there is a pathway being put in place for young players,” added Church.

“It shows we are in a good place when it comes to players underneath the first team, and for Opal to get a clean sheet in her first start, I couldn’t have asked for much more than that.”