Preston's women eased their relegation worries with a controversial 4-3 win against fellow strugglers Sheffield Wednesday at the QED Stadium.

Despite the tight scoreline, the Lilywhites dominated the game and went into half-time two goals ahead after Hannah Bailey's 25th minute opener and Gemma Watson's strike just before the break.

The last 15 minutes of the game were eventful, with substitute Sarah Walker bagging a brace and Sheffield Wednesday's Tanya Rich scoring twice from the spot after two debatable penalty decisions either side of Rachel Skeemer's clever goal.

This win ensures that Chris Stammers' side sit two points ahead of Wednesday who remain in the Northern Division's relegation zone.



North End looked dangerous from the start and Sam Cadwallader almost opened the scoring in the 9th minute when she was picked out brilliantly by Laura Walker, but Sarah Hobson did well to block Cadwallader's shot.

Minutes later, Bailey found herself one-on-one with Wednesday goalkeeper Danni Maslin but Maslin did well to tip away Bailey's audacious lob. Bailey didn't have to wait long though to grab her goal and open the scoring for Preston.

Laura Walker picked the ball up on the right hand side and whipped in a dangerous ball across the six yard box which evaded Maslin and Wednesday's defenders allowing Bailey to bundle the ball in.

Preston started to pass the ball around nicely and managed to double their lead in the 44th minute when Laura Walker's precise through ball found Watson who curled the ball into the bottom corner with the outside of her right foot.



After the break, the game followed a similar pattern to the first half with Bailey and Watson having opportunities to extend the Lilywhites' lead and Laura Walker looking increasingly dangerous on the wing.

But Preston had to wait until the 76th minute to score their third and they did it in style after Laura Walker dinked the ball through to Sarah Walker and the substitute beat Maslin at her near post.

Stammers' side were cruising to a comfortable victory but suffered a late scare in the last ten minutes when the referee pointed to the spot, much to the bemusement of both sets of fans after Mel Martin was adjudged to have pulled Beth Gingell's shirt.

Rich stepped up and squeezed the ball past Reader in North End's goal to give her side a glimmer of hope.



This glimmer of hope soon turned out to be the platform for a Wednesday revival and two minutes after they scored their first, substitute Skeemer finished off her side's good move after her deft-touch went in off the post.

Following this shock comeback, Preston showed great character and with only a minute left on the clock, Sarah Walker finished well to score her second of the game and give her side a two goal cushion.

But there was an added twist in the third minute of stoppage time when Wednesday were awarded another penalty in unclear circumstances.

This didn't matter to Rich who converted her second spot kick of the afternoon but this proved to be too little too late for Wednesday who lost the game by a single goal.



North End manager Chris Stammers commented that it had been an excellent team performance with the score line somewhat flattering the opposition.

Stammers' side tackle Aston Villa at home next week in the league with renewed confidence after two crucial wins in the last three days.

PNE: Reader, Belcher, Jones, Blackett, Eastwood, Martin, Berry (Taberner, 78), L Walker, Watson, Cadwallader (S Walker, 69), Bailey (Craig, 78).

Sheff Wed: Maslin, Severns, Smith, Hobson, Spencer, Barker (Mawhood, 77), De-Silva, Rich, Gingell, Hannon (Skeemer, 56), Sherwood. Unused Subs: Windle, Gale, Foreman.

Report by Treve Whitford. Photos by www.pne-invincibles.com.

Finney Fact: Sir Tom Finney is widely known as a one-club man, but he did make one competitive appearance for another team following his retirement at Deepdale. In 1963, he accepted an offer to come out of retirement and play for Irish side Distillery against Benfica in the European Cup, and the Lisburn part-timers were clearly inspired by the legend in their ranks, holding out for a shock 3-3 draw.