On the opening day of the FAWNL, Norwich City claimed victory over Cambridge United in Division One South East after a goal from Ellie Smith and a hat-trick from Natasha Snelling.
The 4-1 away win has put the Yellows top of the table, as they open the season with the largest win of the weekend.
The Canaries finished their 2021/22 campaign in an unexpected fight for survival, beating third placed side AFC Wimbledon in the penultimate game to secure a place in the division next season.
City took a trip to Abbey Road Stadium on Sunday, August 21, where they donned the club’s new tie-dye shirt for the first time.
The visitors found themselves on top for the best part of 20 minutes, as United struggled to find their rhythm on home turf, until Francesca Partridge took aim from 20+ yards, letting off a superb strike to give United the lead.
City found a breakthrough courtesy of Snelling after 32 minutes, when a mistake at the back allowed Symonds in on goal, and despite Webb making a fine initial stop, the rebound came out to the number ten, who had the simple task of bundling the ball home.
With seconds left on the clock before half time, Symonds should have put the Canaries ahead. After jinxing inside one U’s defender, a super piece of defending from Waygood took the sting out of her shot, which allowed Webb the opportunity to dive across to the right and claw the ball away off the line.
Snelling grabbed her second of the game just after the half-hour mark following a slick move down the left wing.
The U’s pushed for a route back into the match but with 10 minutes remaining, Ellie Smith got Norwich’s third goal, a neat finish on the rebound Fox’s initial save.
With time dwindling down, Snelling grabbed her hat-trick from the penalty spot to ensure that all three points came home to Norwich.
City play their first home game of the season at the Nest on Sunday, August 28 against Actonians LFC.