Glen Preston delighted with 'superb' Fliss Jones after hat trick in 7-1 win over York City.
Preston also praised the impact of new signings Rhema Lord-Mears and Laura Elford after both scored in the rout.
Glen Preston praised Fliss Jones’ ‘superb’ performance as Huddersfield Town Women dismantled York City Ladies 7-1 at the Stafflex Arena.
A hat-trick from Jones against her former club and a debut double from Rhema Lord-Mears saw Town make it two from two at home in Division One North.
Hannah Burgess’s first half effort and Laura Elford’s goal with her first touch off the bench gave Town a resounding victory.
Preston said: “She [Jones] was superb. A great hat-trick and there’s no better feeling sometimes than scoring against your former club. She’ll go home with a smile on her face.
“Fliss has been so unlucky in pre-season and she could have had three or four goals already this season. She’s hit the post, had shots cleared off the line and ‘keepers have produced world class saves.
“But today she’s living proof that as a striker, once you get that one that goes in, the others then follow.”
After a slow start, Town found their stride with Burgess heading wide from a corner and Lord-Mears stinging the palms of Sidwell in the York goal - a sign of things to come.
And they got the breakthrough in superb style. On debut, Lord-Mears picked up the ball 25 yards from goal and sent a bullet into the top left corner, leaving the ‘keeper with no chance.
Burgess then got her rewards for a strong display, poking home at the second attempt after a cross from Kate Mallin.
Two minutes later, Lord-Mears struck another thunderous shot past Sidwell from the edge of the box to make it three.
It was four before the break when Jones broke clear and, despite a smart initial stop from Sidwell, rolled the ball home from the angle.
The second half started slowly, but Town found a second wind with 12 minutes to go. A long ball forward saw Jones through one-on-one with the York goalkeeper caught between coming or staying, allowing the Town number 7 to slot the ball home from 20 yards.
Number six, and the hat-trick followed minutes later when Jones neatly stepped away from her defender and found the top corner from 18 yards.
And the icing on the cake for Town saw new signing Elford superbly finish from the edge of the box with her first touch following Jones’ cut back.
The only blemish on the day saw former Town striker Katie Astle lob an effort over Lauren Joyce in the last minute for a consolation.
After defeat at Cheadle last week, Preston was delighted with how his team got back to winning ways.
He said: “I’m slightly disappointed that we didn’t keep the clean sheet but outside of that it was close to a flawless performance.
“That’s the mindset we’ve set all week - we don’t lose two in a row.
“We’ve bounced back and shown the resilience and character that’s needed to take things to the next level”
Preston was also quick to heap praise on new signings Rhema Lord-Mears,who impressed on debut, and Laura Elford who made an instant impact off the bench.
He said: “Rhema’s just high quality. As you saw today, she’s got the ability to score from the edge of the box when teams sit in a low block and can find the key passes to unlock a defence.
“And Elford is just lethal. There’s a reason why she’s been pretty much the top goalscorer in the division above for the past two or three years. She doesn’t quit and doesn’t give in.”