Report: United Women 4 Leicester 0

Ella Toone opened the scoring after 13 minutes and that lead was doubled before the break in the soggy conditions, through Elisabeth Terland.

Melvine Malard netted United's third and fourth goals of the afternoon in a second half that featured a club debut for Jess Park, who joined from Manchester City on Thursday's WSL deadline day.

After two victories in Champions League qualifying, the result ensures a triumphant opening to our domestic term, which is now due to pause for the next stage of the European campaign. The Reds play away to Norwegian side Brann in the first leg of the third qualifying round on Thursday.

FIRST HALF

United started like a team already two competitive games into the season. Fluid with movements, fast on the ball and possessing an intensity without it. It meant we got on top early, with the visitors needing a save from goalkeeper Janina Leitzig to keep out a close-range effort from Toone, who had drifted into the 18-yard area and was found by an incisive Melvine Malard pass through the defence.

Malard was causing real problems for Leicester down our left flank and continued her lively start with a notable role in our 13th-minute opener. The French forward did brilliantly to flick a Dominique Janssen pass over a defender in close attention to really get the move going. From there, her attempted one-two with Zigiotti was cut out but only as far as Terland, who prodded the ball into Toone's path on the edge of the penalty area. Ella made no mistake with her subsequent first-time finish, placing it to the right of Leitzig, who got a touch before it hit the back of the net.

The goalkeeper made contact on the ball after our next significant attempt too, but this time it was a decisive diversion that prevented Terland making it 2-0. Having got on the end of Jayde Riviere's searching ball down the right touchline after showing good strength to hold off a defender, our August Player of the Month saw her left-footed effort tipped onto the base of the post.

Having already scored four goals this season across our two recent Champions League qualifiers, Terland was hungry for more and wouldn't be denied for long. The Norwegian striker, who registered more combined goals and assists than any other player in the WSL last season, didn't have to move to head home Riviere's cross from the right in the 25th minute. That made it 2-0.

On the half-hour mark, the lead was nearly stretched to three. It was a near carbon copy of Toone's first chance, as she was slipped in by Malard again, and from a similar range the same result followed. Leitzig made the save.

There was no doubt that the Reds deserved the two-goal lead going into the break, but it might have been different had Hlin Eiriksdottir not been offside before finding the net for the Foxes. Maya Le Tissier's pass back to Phallon Tullis-Joyce held up in the wet turf and, after the latter's clearance struck Julie Thibaud, Eirkisdottir impressively lobbed Tullis-Joyce on the turn from around 25 yards out, but play had already been blown dead with the assistant referee's flag raised.

SECOND HALF

That moment looked to have been in United's minds as the second half began. The Reds came forward again and again as our search for a third goal intensified. Malard was at the heart of things once more, pulling our first chance back to Zigiotti, who met the ball before the Leicester defender but could only drag her left-footed stab at it wide. 

Less than a minute later, Malard was in on goal after a neat piece of play that saw Hinata Miyazawa win the ball back and feed Terland, who hooked it around the corner to Malard. Through one-on-one with the goalkeeper, but from an awkward angle on the inside left, Melvine powered her shot across the target and wide.

United's two goals had produced loud roars from the Leigh Sports Village crowd - several of whom were enjoying the first chance to consume alcohol in view of the pitch as part of a WSL trial that United have joined this season - but the noise as Park was introduced for her debut after 57 minutes wasn't far behind.

A swift turn to evade pressure from a defender was a crowd-pleasing first action from our new no.8, and she was soon driving through the heart of midfield with the ball to equal delight, tucked inside from her flexible right-wing position.

Lisa Naalsund and Millie Turner followed Park onto the pitch from the bench, with the latter's introduction at centre-back seeing Janssen move over to left-back. It was from there, flying forward down the touchline, that the Netherlands international created our third goal, crossing for Malard who headed home from point-blank range.

That made it a long way back for Leicester, who parted company with boss Amandine Miquel just 10 days ago, but the Foxes weren't giving up. Interim head coach Rick Passmoor willed his team on from the sideline and they would have had a late consolation goal, but for the boot of Tullis-Joyce keeping out a fierce low strike from Nelly Las.

That stop was crucial to a first league clean sheet of the season for a United defence that was joint-best in the WSL for shutouts last term. The encounter's fourth and final goal, instead, would come at the other end. Malard rounded off a fine opening-weekend performance from the Reds by cutting in from the left and curling her second goal of the afternoon into the far bottom corner, having been allowed the time and space to do so.

MATCH DETAILS

United: Tullis-Joyce; Riviere, Le Tissier (c), Janssen, Sandberg (Turner 70); Zigiotti (Naalsund 65), Miyazawa; Bizet Donnum (Park 57), Toone, Malard; Terland.

Subs not used: Middleton-Patel, Griffiths.

Goals: Toone 13, Terland 25, Malard, 73, 87.

Leicester: Leitzig; Thibaud, Kees, Boureille, Ale; Tierney, Van Egmond, Cayman (Payne 72); Eiriksdottir (Las 65), Cain (Rantala 82), O'Brien (McLoughlin 46).

Subs not used: Clark, Wellesley-Smith, Sherwood, Ayane, Kaczmar.

Booked: Cain.

Attendance: 4,325.