BRADFORD City Women were hammered 9-0 at Fylde in the FA Women's National League Northern Premier on Sunday.

The hosts dominated thanks in the main to hat-tricks from Emily Hollinshead and Georgia Stevens.

Fylde were quick out of the blocks, taking the lead after only 70 seconds when a speculative long-range effort from Hollinshead looped over the stranded Aimee Routledge in the Bradford goal.

City looked for a way back in, but were caught on the break twice, Stevens taking advantage of some good build-up play to score two in three minutes.

The Bantams rallied and went close on a couple of occasions, with Shirley Murphy and Rosie Gill attacking down the flanks. Player of the match Maisie Norde worked tirelessly in defence, and her overlapping runs and partnership with Murphy on the left troubled Fylde in the first half.

Hannah Shuttleworth replaced Kate Donnan at the break, as City pressed for a way back into the game, but Fylde started the second half in a similar vein, passing and pressing from back to front.

Georgia Payton scored a fourth after 49 minutes, then on the hour it was Sasha Rowe’s turn to beat Routledge from distance with another powerful effort.

Experienced defender Jen Clark limped off after 61 minutes, having carried an injury from before the game. Bryony Hanson came on to pair with Jade Brindle in attack.

Gill looked to have pulled back a consolation goal for City as she rounded the keeper and tucked the ball away, but the referee blew up for a foul that left the City contingent scratching their heads.

As City tired, Fylde piled on the pressure. Sophie Charlton finished a flowing passing move before Stevens completed her hat-trick to take the home side 7-0 up with 10 minutes left. Hollinshead then scored her second and third in the final few minutes.

City’s young side fought hard against an experienced Fylde outfit, who are firm contenders for promotion, currently in fifth but with games in hand.

The Bantams' youthful development side went down 6-0 away to a strong Blackburn Rovers. Coach Jamie Grand was full of praise for his team, who continue to battle despite some difficult results.

He said: “The players worked extremely hard on their game plan. Whilst there is plenty of work to do we can be proud of the discipline and togetherness we showed. Ella Jacobs in particular is worthy of a mention after pulling off a number of crucial saves."

Next up for City is a trip to neighbours Huddersfield Town in the SSE FA Cup, while the development team host Middlesbrough at Rawdon Meadows this Sunday.