Grimsby Women were back to winning ways before the Christmas break as a Laura Flecknor brace was amongst the goals in a comfortable 5-1 victory at Clee Fields.

The midfielder’s brace was added to by strikes from Abbie Emslie, Alisha Dejonge and Beth Wharton which was enough to see off the Magpies, with Ben Challen’s side sitting second in the league heading into the New Year.

Five changes were made to the side that bowed out of League Cup last time out, with the most notable switch being the change of role for Centre-back Chloe Thorpe, who found herself in between the sticks.

Emslie and Dejonge returned to the starting XI, while Hermione Clapham and Ellie Wilson also found themselves featuring from the first minute.

There was only seven minutes on the clock before the Mariners took the lead through Dejonge. Clapham advanced forward from left-back and slotted the ball through to Flecknor. The number eight then flicked it over the head of the visiting defenders for Dejonge to finish with aplomb.

The hosts advantage was doubled shortly after when a quick breakaway saw Wharton square the ball to Emslie who slotted home for the Mariners’ second of the afternoon.

Town kept pushing for more as some great play by Flecknor saw the midfielder square the ball to Dejonge. The number ten’s shot deflected off a Notts County defender and into the path of Wharton for the rebound, but the striker’s effort glanced wide of the post.

Flecknor was next on the scoresheet with a well-deserved goal. Dejonge turned from goal scorer to provider, playing the ball into the number eight who finished with a lovely dink over the County keeper and into the back of the net.

County closed the gap to two goals when they scored on the stroke of the half-time, but Ben Challen’s side headed into the break with a comfortable lead.

It was Flecknor who got Town’s fourth goal of the game halfway through the second period and the pick of the bunch as she took aim from 30 yards out and watched as the ball sailed over the visiting keeper and into the back of the net for her brace.

A couple of minutes later it was Wharton’s turn to get her shooting boots on and in similar fashion to Flecknor, confidently struck the ball from distance as it looped into the back of the net to round off a dominant performance on home soil.

Ben Challen’s side are next in action in the New Year when they travel to Nottingham to face Sherwood on Sunday 5th January in a 2pm kick-off.

Town: Thorpe, Wilson, Gray, Wray, Clapham, Brighton, Welsh, Dejonge, Flecknor, Emslie, Wharton.

Substitutes: Fawcett, Swallow