Rovers Women secured a 2-1 victory against Southampton in front of a record crowd at Ewood Park.

Megan Hornby bagged a brace as Simon Parker’s side surpassed their highest Championship points tally.

Both of Hornby’s goals came inside the opening 11 minutes after a rapid start from Rovers against opponents in the promotion race.

Southampton pulled one back through Molly Pike later in the first half but were unable to find an equaliser.

The result leaves Rovers seventh in the table, having won eight of their 18 league games since the start of the campaign.

“We know it was going to be tough,” Hornby said after the final whistle. “Southampton are a good side, they play well, but I think we knew deep down that we could get some points.

“Going into the changing rooms now, I can just imagine everyone in there dancing away and enjoying themselves.

“We have reached our best points (tally) in this league. That was one of the goals this year so we have done that, now we have more goals to reach.

“We all talk about, ‘If you don’t shoot, you can’t get goals’. I think this year we have been a little hesitant to shoot.

“Coming into this game, I had it in my head to just get some shots away and if they went in, they went in. If not, I could improve them. Luckily, two went in today!”

More than 1,500 fans were in attendance for the fixture and Hornby says the support gave the team a big boost on the pitch.

“The crowd is a massive help for us,” she added. “There are moments in games where it might flip and heading the crowd behind you when you are going into challenges, it really gives you a boost.

“You could be really tired but as soon as you hear that crowd, you get your second wind and it is like you are fresh from the start again.”