Erickson opener sets up Galway rout as Waves crash

Galway United lept to the summit, albeit for a few hours at least, of the Women's Premier Division with a big win at the UCD Bowl.

A blistering opening period ensured all three points headed back west as Jamie Erickson, Amanda Smyth and Emily Kavanaugh did all the damage early on, with an unfortunate Izzy Atkinson own goal added late on.

With not only a chance to impress the onlooking Ireland manager Eileen Gleeson, there was also the added incentive of putting huge pressure on title rivals Shelbourne and Athlone Town.

And Phil Trill’s side got the dream start - much like the rip roaring start they made against Cork City on Wednesday in their seven goal thriller with two goals in two minutes- this time it was three goals within the first quarter of an hour.

The first came after just nine minutes when Julie-Ann Russell got a second bite of the cherry from her initial corner, as she delivered a quality cross over Rugile Auskalnyte, finding Erickson to set her side on their way.

Just a minute later Amanda Smyth bent an unstoppable left foot curler to the top corner, having cut inside from the right wing to double the lead, very similar to the Ellen Molloy stunner for Wexford a couple of weeks ago.

The title chasing visitors were in dreamland just minutes after the quickfire double salvo as Emily Kavanaugh added a third with a low strike from the edge of the area.

The hosts did their best to stop the floodgates well and truly opening as they tried desperately to get a foothold on the game. Julie-Ann Russell was sharply denied by Auskalnyte before the Irish International and Erickson combined in similar fashion to the opener but failed to hit the target on this occasion.

Impressive Irish youth sensation Aisling Meehan had a thankless