C&K BASILDON opened the new season with a fine 2-0 win against Portsmouth, as goals in each half from Lily Mellors and Zoe Rushen saw them over the line.

The first action of the match came in the ninth minute when Mellors made her way into the penalty box and sent in a shot that went wide of the post.

The visitors responded with a good chance of their own a minute later when Nikkita Runnacles was forced into making a good low save after the Portsmouth player had made her way through the Basildon defence.

The visitors then had another good chance, when a quick interchange of passes on the edge of the Basildon area ended with a Portsmouth player hitting over.

It was Basildon that made the crucial breakthrough after 17 minutes, Amy Nash sent Mellors clear in behind the Portsmouth defence, and as the goalkeeper came out to narrow the angle, Mellors sent a delicate chip over the goalkeeper and underneath the bar.

Two minutes later, Rushen came close to a second goal for Basildon when her free kick went just past the angle of post and upright, with Mellors rolling a shot inches wide of the post soon after.

Portsmouth had another good opportunity just after the half hour mark when a corner led to a scramble inside the Basildon penalty area, with the ball being cleared as far as the edge of the box, from where a Portsmouth player picked up the ball before shooting over the bar.

As half-time approached, Rushen, Katherine Huggins and Nash all came close but were unable to stretch their advantage.

The second-half opened with Runnacles having to be alert to cut out a long ball through the centre of the Basildon defence.

Rushen then turned her marker before playing in Mellors, who once again chipped the advancing goalkeeper, but this time the ball went over the bar.

Runnacles produced an outstanding save after 71 minutes, when she was able to turn a shot from range onto the crossbar.

Basildon made the points safe on 86 minutes, when Huggins found Rushen on the edge of the Portsmouth penalty area, and she turned her marker before curling a shot into the top corner.

l C&K Basildon: Runnacles, Stimson, Porter, Booker, Stephanou, Little, Rushen, Huggins, Mellors (Bradley), Rodney (Blowers) and Nash (De Bell).