A scoreless first half turned into a second half goalfest, with Melrose getting out to a 3-0 lead before Emily Bowhuis scored with just five minutes to go.

The news for Boomers got even worse when midfielder Jess Thomas, who was expected to miss the game, was taken away by ambulance after hurting her knee.

It was the third win in a row for the now second-placed Melrose, having knocked off Boomers in their two home and away games last year.

Coach Les Chettleburgh said they matched up well against the perennial powerhouse.

“I’m not sure whether it is our pace up front with girls like Lucy Smith that bothers them but at the moment we seem to have the wood on them,” he said.

“All the girls played well — Amy and Tegan Martin, I don’t think there was a bad player, they all did their job.”

But the scoreline could have flattered the victors with Boomers peppering the goal in the final 20 minutes and Melrose keeper Shayne Garlend stopping one shot from point blank range.

Boomers coach Steve Hayes said it was a carbon copy of last week’s 1-0 loss to Diamonds.

“We just keep hammering away at goal but can’t find the back of the net,” he said.

“To make matters worse Jess Thomas looks like she could be gone for the year with an ACL.

“She was expected to be unavailable, away on assignment with work, but got cleared on Friday to play and then Joey Cartwright hurt herself at state training yesterday.”

Melrose will play Diamonds this week in what is now a top of the table clash.

“Just like we seem to have a game to beat Boomers, Diamonds have in recent years had the game that unsettles us,” Chettleburgh said.