Clarets go 10 points clear at top

Leah Embley and Dani Cooper were on target, as the Clarets went 10 points clear at the top with a game in hand.

The Feds had early chances as striker Carla Lee turned the Clarets defence and shot close to goal, but Clarets keeper Lauren Bracewell was well positioned to save.

The Feds had another chance as the ball was slotted through close to Bracewell’s left post. Nicola Shirtcliffe was forced into a hasty defensive clearance as strikers swooped to intercept.

The deadlock was broken on 36 minutes when a Bracewell goal kick was headed on by Lynette Craig.

Embley collected and cut past the high defensive line and raced towards goal, before firing inside the near post.

In the second half the Clarets came under sustained pressure as the visitors attacked down the slope.

A corner kick was headed wide at the front post, a freekick proved difficult to clear and Bracewell had to pull down and smother a high shot.

A Clarets shot was superbly saved by the diving Feds keeper, and as the ball ran free, another shot was blocked by a defender on the line, and a follow up was deflected before a final shot was also blocked on the line.

The Feds had a shot blocked on the six-yard line before the ball was scrambled to safety, and they did not trouble the Clarets too much in the latter stages as the Clarets defenders Sammy Fleck and captain Jo Holt worked tirelessly to protect the clean sheet.

Victory was sealed in the second minute of stoppage time when the returning Sarah Greenhalgh set fellow substitute Dani Cooper off on a run towards goal, where she shot from the edge of the area beating the keeper.

On Sunday Burnley play Leeds United at the Leeds United Training Ground.