Linfield Women beat Lisburn 5:2 in the Premiership Group Stage on Thursday evening. The result flipped a fixture we had confidently tipped for the visitors. By then, the scoreboard told a different story from any pre-match analysis.
Lisburn arrived fourth after three games — two wins and a loss. Linfield sat sixth with eight matches played, one victory and one draw. The gap on paper suggested an away side in control. The match decided otherwise.
There was no minute-by-minute data to work with, but the scoreline speaks clearly enough. Lisburn had looked sharp in recent outings, including a 7:1 win over Crusaders. Linfield had mixed results, with a heavy 0:6 defeat to Glentoran among them. The evening belonged to the hosts.
We had given an away win at 90 per cent confidence. That projection dissolved in the first half. Lisburn failed to impose themselves where it mattered, and Linfield took advantage of every opening they found.
The result leaves Linfield with five points from nine games. Lisburn remain on six points after four matches. The table tells you nothing about how closely contested this was until the final whistle.