Martinez nets hat-trick as we put six past Bristol City in Players Cup

The forward, who joined us from West Ham United in the summer, opened the scoring after 14 minutes with a deft chip over goalkeeper Lauren Brzykcy before producing two more predatory finishes, finishing from a tight angle after an initial save to make it 3-0 – shortly after Olivia Holdt had doubled our lead – before crashing home a header to round off the scoring in the second half.

Signe Gaupset netted a stunning fourth goal for us, lobbing Brzykcy from range, and although Rio Hardy pulled one back for the hosts a minute later, we pushed on again after the break with Matila Nilden netting her first goal in our colours before Martinez completed her treble.

Alongside the strong performance, the game saw the highly-anticipated return of Jess Naz, who made her first appearance in almost 11 months, having ruptured her anterior cruciate ligament last December.

We started brightly, creating the opening chance of the game within the first 90 seconds. In the aftermath of a corner, Kirsty Hanson put in a left-footed cross, which Amanda Nilden headed narrowly wide at the far post. The hosts created their first opportunity of the game two minutes later, with Katie Robinson muscling Ella Morris off the ball and bursting down the right touchline before sending a ball in behind for Lotta Lindström, whose shot was parried away by Selma Panengstuen.

Martinez made the breakthrough after 14 minutes, running onto Amanda Nilden’s pass from deep and clipping the ball over the stranded Brzykcy before we doubled our lead five minutes later, Eveliina Summanen unselfishly squaring across the box for Holdt to prod home after a fluid passing move. We were 3-0 up inside 24 minutes as Martinez finished from the angle after Matilda Nilden’s shot was saved and after Hanson was denied by Brzycky, the latter was caught out by Gaupset who lobbed her with a superb strike from distance with 41 minutes gone.

Hardy struck back from close range a minute later as we struggled to clear our lines after a ball in from the left – the first goal we’ve conceded outside of a penalty shootout in the Players Cup this season – but four minutes after the restart we restored our four-goal cushion as Matilda Nilden latched onto Holdt’s through ball and fired low into the corner. Matilda Nilden spurned two further chances in the latter stages while after being denied by a flying save from Brzycky, Martinez finally rounded off her treble when she powered in a header at the near post from Lenna Gunning-Williams’ cross 12 minutes from time.

Matilda Vinberg also went close towards the end, but it was arguably one of our substitutes who earned the biggest reaction from our fans as Naz ended her long wait for a return to action when she stepped off the bench in the 63rd minute, 325 days after her last game.

The win made it two wins in a row in the competition, which has taken on a new format for the 2026/27 season, moving us up to sixth in the 23-team table after three matches.