Five-star Sunderland Ladies seal cup progression

Five goals from five different scorers wrapped up a convincing triumph against the Shrimps - who ply their trade one league below the the Lady Black Cats.

Emily Hutchinson, Keira Ramshaw, Bridget Galloway, Louise Griffiths and Georgia Gibson all found the net in a five-star performance.

The absence of manager Mel Reay - currently away with the England under-23 squad - didn’t seem to affect Sunderland who took the lead just five minutes in as Hutchinson netted her first goal for the club after converting Danielle Brown’s deep cross.

And the one-way traffic continued as Jordan Atkinson and Ramshaw both flashed shots narrowly wide of the target as the Black Cats continued to pour forward.

A second would come before the break courtesy of a fine individual effort from skipper Ramshaw, who took on several players before slotting into the bottom corner.

Sunderland’s dominance continued after the interval, too, and a third came just ten minutes after the restart - Atkinson’s cross turned in by Galloway.

The class of the visitors was beginning to show and, with Morecambe starting to tire, gaps were appearing.

And such gaps allowed Sunderland to profit, with centre back Griffiths exploiting one as she embarked on a barnstorming run from her own half before firing home to open her account for the club.

A fifth followed too, with Georgia Gibson converting in injury time - grabbing a goal on her birthday and capping off a fine team performance.

The Lady Black Cats now turn their attentions back to league action as they travel to the Stafflex Arena to take on Huddersfield Town next Sunday (September 9, 2pm kick-off).