St Neots Ladies I were back to winning ways with a 3-0 home victory against Ely.

The coaches called for a fast start and St Neots responded as they bounced back from defeat the previous week to not only rack up three points but also register their first clean sheet of the season.

Ely were allowed no time to settle at the outset and Saints took the lead from their first penalty corner in the second minute when Emma Ritchie fired in an unstoppable shot from the edge of the circle.

Buoyed by this early success Saints poured forward and doubled their advantage when Katie Bates seized on a loose ball in the visitors’ D and made no mistake from close range.

Paula Bingham went close following an excellent, flowing move, but the score was unchanged as Ely defended with great determination and even launched some counter attacks in a more evenly matched second period.

They might have brought about a close finish, but Sue Glover pounced on a loose ball and flicked it past the goalkeeper to seal the spoils around 10 minutes from the end.

Saints will need to maintain the tempo and quality of their play throughout the match if they are to emerge with anything from a tough away trip to Alford (Skegness) on Saturday.