Liverpool continued a perfect start to their Subway Women's League Cup campaign with a 2-1 victory at Durham on Thursday night.
Ceri Holland's stunning first-half strike was cancelled out direct from a corner, but Sam Kerr won it for the Reds with four minutes left.
It was a tough battle with the Barclays Women's Super League 2 side on the artificial surface in the north east, but Gareth Taylor's side did enough to deserve to make it six points out of six with one game left in the group stage.
The first half was relatively light on goalmouth incident but enlivened by two superb strikes for the goals.
The Reds had most of the early ball but suffered a slight scare when goalkeeper Faye Kirby's clearance was charged down by Layla McFarlane, the ricochet luckily lacking the pace to reach the goalline.
Kerr was the first to work Durham's Anna King but her shot lacked the power to trouble the 'keeper just before the quarter-hour mark.
Liverpool were dealt a blow on 21 minutes when striker Sophie Roman Haug went off with an injury and had to be replaced by Holland.
And it was the Wales international who made a swift impact, picking up a loose ball 25 yards out and unleashing a tremendous shot into the back of the net, leaving King motionless with 27 minutes on the clock.
Ten minutes later, Holland almost added an assist, with her lovely cross finding the head of Kirsty Maclean but the effort being too close to King.
Instead it was Durham who grabbed an equaliser. Michaela Foster netted direct from a corner after Kirby had made a stunning save from her initial shot.
The Reds went about restoring their advantage, with Mia Enderby's fine run releasing Holland on the left but her delivery evaded Cornelia Kapocs in the centre to leave it level at the break.
The visitors should have re-taken the lead within five minutes of the restart, Jenna Clark heading over from a cross from the ever-available Holland.
Gemma Evans then nodded wide and Ella Wilson shot wide for the hosts, with chances on goal still at a premium.
Enderby was somehow denied at point-blank range by King's reflex save with 15 minutes remaining, after the perfect centre from Kapocs looked certain to help the Reds go 2-1 up.
They did so with a handful of minutes left, Holland's cross from the right teed up for Kerr to find the corner and secure all three points.
Team
Liverpool: Kirby, Shimizu, Clark, Fisk, Evans, Nagano, Kerr, Maclean (Olsson, 84), Enderby, Roman H. (Holland, 21), Kapocs.
Unused subs: Borggrafe, Szymczak, Lundgaard, Silcock.
SOURCE: www.liverpoolfc.com
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