BASINGSTOKE Town Ladies moved up to third in the Southern Premier table with a 6-1 victory over Southampton Women.

Hosts Basingstoke made a good start and raced into a three-goal lead inside the opening 15 minutes. Tracy Jones opened the scoring after just four minutes before Lindsey Beverley netted twice, the second after the visiting goalkeeper failed to hold Lianne Hill’s powerful shot.

Southampton pulled a goal back 25 minutes in, while they went close again before half-time, a shot flashing just over.

The second half got off to a slow start but Town extended their lead on 56 minutes, Jones slotting home her second of the game, while Sam Mosley saw a header cleared off the line and had another effort ruled out for offside.

Basingstoke finished with a flourish, scoring twice in the final minutes. Ayala Liran got the first from outside the area, while Justine Mosley finished off an excellent move to complete the scoring.

The win was Basingstoke’s sixth in a row in all competitions and their third successive victory in the league. They are next in action at Winklebury on January 6, when Bracknell Town will be the visitors.