Kilmarnock emphatically claimed the derby day bragging rights with an 8-1 away win over Ayr United in the first SWPL2 Ayrshire derby of the campaign.
Despite the final scoreline, it was 1-1 heading into the final five minutes of the first half after Abby Robinson’s 23rd minute opener for Killie had been answered back by Paige Henry for United.
The hosts even went agonisingly close to taking the lead when a stramash inside the Killie six yard box saw the ball rattle back off the woodwork.
The turning point arrived just before the interval when a quickfire Cara Gray double had Jim Chapman’s side sitting pretty at the interval as goals in the 41st and 43rd minutes made it 3-1 at the break.
And the momentum continued into the second half as they found the net five more times.
Gray completed her hat-trick on the hour mark to spark a burst of four goals in seven minutes with a Dionne Brown strike being sandwiched between a Lucie Burns double as Killie raced out to a 7-1 lead on 67 minutes.
Arwen O’Brien completed the rout when she netted directly from a corner-kick 13 minutes from time.
Despite the margin of victory, Killie gaffer Chapman confessed they should have scored more and challenged his side to improve even further as they look to strengthen their promotion challenge.
Speaking to the club’s media, he said: “I’m really pleased with some of the play we had but there was a wee bit of frustration. Some of our play was excellent but our end product still needs to improve. If you’ve got any complaints, it’s maybe not taking the chances.”
He added: “When we go about our business properly and play with intensity then we showed that we’re more than capable at this level, however I would like us to be a bit more ruthless in front of goal. If you settle for mediocrity that’s what you get.
“I’ve said to the girls that we need to keep the standards high and we need to keep challenging each other.”
Hat-trick hero Gray said: “The start of the season, I’ve not had many goals but it’s good to be back scoring again.
“Being on loan here, it’s what I need to be doing. The rest of the team has really helped with the service I’m getting.”
Killie will be looking for revenge on Sunday when they host Rossvale – the side that beat them on the opening day of the season.