AFC Wimbledon Ladies moved up to fourth place in the table after a hard-fought win at Enfield on Sunday.
First-half goals by Ashlee Hincks and Megan Stow were just enough as the Dons triumphed 2-1 after a second-half Enfield fightback.
With testing away trips at London Seaward and Hashtag United coming up later this week, victory at the Queen Elizabeth Stadium was important for Kevin Foster's side.
The Dons started the better of the two sides on Sunday, but struggled to carve out any clear-cut opportunities. Wimbledon earned a penalty though in the 20th minute and Hincks made no mistake to continue her fine goal scoring record so far this season. The goal seemed to make it a more open game as Enfield started to get opportunities of their own, but the Dons doubled the advantage on the stroke of half-time. Stow scored through a fine individual effort, though some would claim her shot was intended as a cross.
The second-half was a different story. The Dons were sloppy and were unable to get going again after the restart, which allowed Enfield to start getting a foothold in the game. Faye Baker was forced into a fine save as she did well to hold onto a well struck shot from close range, but Enfield’s pressure was rewarded with a goal on the hour mark as they capitalised on a defensive mix-up by the Dons. This forced a nervy finish but some great game management from Ashlee Hincks and Hannah Billingham ensured the Dons left north London with all three points.
First-team coach Andy May said: “It was a game of two halves really. We started really strong first 45 then did not set our standards to what we expect in the second half. To be fair to Enfield they made it a good game and made it a challenge for us, but the pleasing thing is we came out with three points in a three-game week.”
Having moved up the table and with games in hand on the leaders, the Dons go into Wednesday's match at London Seward (at the Mile End Stadium) with confidence high, before making the trip to Canvey Island to take on promotion contenders Hashtag United on Sunday.
AFC Wimbledon Ladies: Faye Baker, Rosie Russell, Kelly Highman, Rebecca Sargent, Hannah Billingham, Angel Fowler (Steph Mann), Megan Stow, Emily Donovan (Molly Childerhouse), Lauren Pickett (Chloe Sampson), Ashlee Hincks, Rebecca Carter (Gloria Siber).
Pic credit: Glyn Roberts.