Not many teams – male or female – leave Liverpool with points. The last time I went to Liverpool, years ago with West Ham, we left with a 4-0 defeat and a brick through the coach window. Those halcyon away days…

In line with the club’s new eco commitments, there was no Supporters Club representation in Tranmere. Instead, we watched Liverpool’s excellent live stream and saw a really good game, albeit one where we came out two goals to the worse.

The game had a tepid start, with both sides sparring for the opening 20 minutes. It took a goal to bring the contest to life and it came from the hosts. A smart break down the right saw a ball slashed towards Lewes keeper, Shanell Salgado, who could only spoon it towards Leanne Kiernan who applied the finish.

The goal prompted a slug fest, with both sides pushing hard to find the next goal. Salgado probably won’t want to watch the first goal replay again, but she made a smart save in the 26th minute to keep the Rooks in it – and continued to make a series of excellent stops throughout the match.

At the other end, Lewes were reading the riot act to Laws in the the Liverpool goal. Ini Umotong and Izzy Dalton both had big chances in quick succession, before Heidi Logan made it a quickfire hat-trick of chances on the Liverpool net.

The best sight of goal for the Rooks came shortly after, when a Logan drive smashed against the bar and Umotong couldn’t convert the rebound.

Liverpool heeded the warning shots and responded with their second goal in the 40th minute. The Lewes back line failed to clear a cross from the left and the ever-lively Kiernan was on hand once more to convert the chance in the top corner.

The second half was as end-to-end as the first. The pick of the Lewes chances fell to Freda Ayisi, who had the ball played into her path by a delightful backheel from Heidi Logan – a move so sweet, it’s on sale in Gregg’s from Monday. Alas, Freda couldn’t quite convert, slapping the post with her low effort.

At the other end, Salgado was pulling off heroics, none more so than when Liverpool had a three-on-one run on the Lewes defence and the keeper rushed forward to snuff out the danger.

No shame in defeat, but no points to soften the long journey home, either.

Lewes: Salgado, McKenna, Cleverly, Hack, O’Rourke, Logan, Hazard, Dalton, Howells, Ayisi, Umotong

Subs: Timms, Logan, Noble, Cousins, Boswell, Cross, Hartley