Four of West Ham United women's team's loanees were in action for their respective temporary sides over the weekend as teams returned to action following the Christmas break.
Jessie Stapleton and Keira Flannery helped Sunderland to an emphatic 7-1 victory at Exeter on Sunday to secure the Black Cats’ spot in the fifth round of the Adobe Women’s FA Cup.
The former played the whole contest while Flannery was introduced from the bench on the hour mark as a four-goal haul from Eleanor Dale and an Ellen Jones hat-trick eased Sunderland into the hat for the next round.
Melanie Reay’s side, fifth in the league standings, return to Barclays Women’s Championship action on Sunday with a trip to sixth-placed Southampton.
Elsewhere, Macey Nicholls started for Hashtag United on Sunday as her side scored two unanswered goals at home to Plymouth Argyle to create a three-point lead at the top of the FA Women’s National League Southern Premier Division.
Sammy Rowland poked the ball home from close range to break the deadlock 12 minutes in and Honor Norton secured the three points with a rifled finish 17 minutes from time.
The Tags, who have played three games more than second-placed Ipswich Town, host Hashtag United Reserves in the quarter-finals of the BBC Essex Women’s Cup on Sunday.
Meanwhile, Inès Belloumou was an unused substitute in Lazio’s return to Serie A action as they fell to a 3-1 loss at Sassuolo on Saturday.
An early red card for Lazio’s Federica D'Auria helped the hosts gain a two-goal lead, but Noemi Visentin halved the deficit before the break.
However, Sassuolo put to bed any chance of a comeback from the visitors in the 82nd minute, adding a third through Valeria Monterubbiano.
The three points helped the home side leapfrog Lazio in the standings, leaving Belloumou’s team eighth in the table with a trip to ninth-placed Napoli to come on Saturday.
