LEETA Rutherford unleashed a stunning free-kick to send Saints Women through to the next round of the National League Cup and then added: “I’ve never really been a free-kick taker!”

The former Crystal Palace ace sent a stunning right-foot strike into the top corner to earn Saints a 2-1 victory over MK Dons at Snows Stadium.

Marriane Taho’s lob on 47 minutes had put the Dons in front before Alisha Ware’s neat finish and a Rutherford’s stunning free-kick turned the game on its head for the south coast side.

Reflecting on the winning goal, Rutherford told the club website: “I’ve never really been a free-kick taker! But I can take them and hit them.

“It was just one of those moments when you know. I just picked up the ball, I wanted it.

“It was just one of those feelings where I knew it was going in. It was not a bad finish!

“The wind played a big part here but to come away with the win is just brilliant to get through to the next round.”

Rutherford was brought in to add some experience to Saints’ ranks during the summer, with the club striving in their bid to gain promotion this campaign.

“We work hard during training,” she added. “There is a lot of competition in the squad now, so everybody is fighting for their shirts, fighting for the squad – which is a really good thing to have.

“As a manager it’s a really good place to be in because you’ve got depth in the squad. I wouldn’t like to be the manager at this point!

“Every game we face, we just fight and fight and we’ve go that mentality here that everybody wants to work for each other – it’s really good.”

Saints Women are currently second in National League Southern Premier, with eight wins out of nine. Their only defeat came against league leaders Ipswich last month.

Spacey-Cale’s side are also through to the third round of the Women’s FA Cup, where they will face Portsmouth later this month.

Saints are next in action when they host Eastleigh Ladies in the quarter-final of the Hampshire Senior Cup on Thursday (7.30pm).