FA Women’s National League
League Cup
Holders Nottingham Forest have gone out of the League Cup in the last sixteen this time around, having gone down 3-0 to Newcastle Utd. Georgia Gibson opened the scoring for the Magpies and Amber Keegan-Stobbs made it two ahead of half time, before Kacie Elson wrapped up the win with the third goal in injury time.
Two of the top three teams in the Southern Premier Division came face to face and it was Hashtag Utd who were narrow 2-1 winners over Rugby Borough. Phoebe Williams gave the Tags a fourth minute lead and after Lily Greenslade equalised for Rugby just after the hour, Hayley West netted the winning goal for Hashtag late on.
Portsmouth faced a difficult trip to Milton Keynes Dons and the tie turned out to be as close as expected. Emma Jones scored the only goal of the game, fifteen minutes from time, for a 1-0 victory which takes Pompey into the quarter finals.
It has not been an easy season for Huddersfield Town so far but they recaptured their winning form in the Cup by edging out West Bromwich Albion by the odd goal in seven. Feiruz Abdullahi scored a goal in each half for Town, while Serena Fletcher and Aisha Nsangou were also on target as Huddersfield negotiated a late fightback by Albion, for whom Simran Jhamat netted twice and Francesca Orthodoxou the other.
London Bees are another team who are finding matters less tricky in the cup and they progressed to the last eight by beating Norwich City 2-0. Abbie Bensted and Kayla Potter scored the goals to take the Bees through at the expense of the high flyging Canaries.
A strong first half performance helped Fylde Women on their way to a 4-2 victory over Durham Cestria. Ginna Lackey has been a shining light for the Coasters so far this season and she spearheaded the win by hitting a hat-trick and Beth Strutton was also on target, whilst both of the Wildcats’ replies after the break came from Alisha Clarke-Mainwaring.
Halifax FC Women meanwhile had landed an awkward away tie at Plate holders Leeds Utd but managed to come back with a 4-3 win under their belts. Meg Boydell netted a brace for Halifax along with Shauna Legge and Courtney Willis, while Jessica Rousseau bagged a brace for Leeds and Katie Astle joined her on the scoresheet.
The other tie between Cardiff City Ladies and Ipswich Town was postponed because of international commitments and is due to be played this Sunday.
League Plate
Derby County went through to the quarter finals with a 5-2 victory away to Northampton Town. Kira Rai, Yasmin Mosby, Megan Tinsley and Eleanor Ashton all scored for the Ewes along with an own goal, whilst Kim Farrow and Zoe Boote replied for the home side.
Two goals deep into the second half saw Exeter City to a 2-0 win against London Seaward. Phoebe Baker opened the scoring with sixteen minutes left on the clock and Mollie Taylor wrapped up the win with the second goal shortly afterwards.
There was late drama at Cambridge Utd where the home side edged past Keynsham Town with a 2-1 victory after extra time. Naomi Clipston gave Keynsham the lead on the hour mark but Cambridge hit back with substitute Ruth Fox levelling the scores to take the game into the extra period where, with penalties looming, Isabella Simmons grabbed a winning goal for the U’s.
Hull City enjoyed a much smoother passage into the last eight as they scored six times without reply past FC United of Manchester. Hope Knight led the scoring for Hull by hitting a hat-trick and the others came from Helen Lynskey, Rachael Ackroyd and Kirstie Hunt.
Barnsley were the other winners on the day, beating Sheffield FC 4-0. Brooke Marsden netted two of the goals and she was joined on the scoresheet by Charlotte Stuart and Abi Housecroft.
Division One Midlands
Peterborough Utd narrowed the gap on leaders Loughborough Lightning to a single point after beating fourth placed Solihull Moors 1-0 in the only match played in the division on Sunday. Kier Perkins scored the only goal of the game for the Posh Women, five minutes from time.
Division One South East
AFC Wimbledon stretched their lead at the top to four points, thanks to a 5-0 victory over Worthing FC Women. The two teams had met in the Women’s FA Cup seven days earlier, with the Dons winning 3-2 on that occasion, and this time an Ellie Dorey hat-trick, plus a late brace from Sandra Martins, earned Wimbledon a seventh straight win in all competitons.
The other match in the division on Sunday saw the spoils shared between Actonians Ladies and AFC Sudbury as they battled out a 3-3 draw. Mara Bramwell, Tori St Clair and Jasmine Williamson were all on target for Actonians, whilst Leonnie Bezant, Maisie Goodwin and Sophie Jeffery hit back to earn Sudbury an important point.
Division One South West
Moneyfields have lifted themselves up into fourth place after scoring eight times without reply past Bridgwater Utd. Kau’inohea Taylor and Charley Wilson-Wilton both netted twice for the Moneys and they were joined on the scoresheet by Gemma Simmonds, Kirsty Pearce, Kim Fuller and Rebekah Tonks.
Abingdon Utd meanwhile came from behind to win 2-1 against Torquay Utd. Tracey Cross opened the scoring for Torquay but Abingdon hit back to take the points, thanks to goals from Lucy Durham and Lauren May, whilst goalkeeper Hannah Cox saved a penalty.
Reserve Section round-up….
Newcastle Utd marched into the quarter finals of the Reserve League Cup when they won 7-1 away to Stockport County. Georgina Spraggon led the scoring for the Magpies with a hat-trick, Poppy Alderson contributed a brace while Amy Hargrave and Grace Boyes were both on target. Derby County were knocked out by Wolverhampton Wanderers on a penalty shootout after the teams had shared a 2-2 draw. Isabel Sheridan netted both goals for Derby while Ania Denham and Beth Grady both scored for Wolves, who went on to triumph 7-6 from the spot. Madeline Rook hit a hat-trick as AFC Bournemouth stormed through with a seven-goal victory over Swindon Town, with Darcey Maxted, Sophie Lengo and Evie Murphy adding the others as well as an own goal. Kaja Grochowska bagged a brace as Hashtag Utd won 2-1 away to Billericay Town whilst Stoke City were 3-1 winners at Sporting Khalsa, courtesy of strikes from Abbie Iddenden, Ruby Millington and Layla Kennerley. Kulreet Sangha and Cassie Donald were the markswomen for Durham Cestria as they beat Middlesbrough 2-0 and Watford were 4-1 victors over Maidenhead Utd thanks to Francesca Vigo, Isabella Sturmey, Lily Whitelock and Charlotte Byde.
In the Reserve League Plate, Peterborough Utd won a thrilling tie 5-4 against Leeds Utd, Ella-Mai Bale hitting a hat-trick for the Posh Women and Katie Steward adding the other two. Lydia Biggins (2) and Hall Skyy Harding were on target for Halifax FC Women as they beat Sutton Coldfield Town 3-2 whilst Katelyn Wort and Olivia Payne were the markswomen for Southampton Women as they shared four goals with Rugby Borough, before the Sirens won 4-2 from the resulting penalty shootout. Milton Keynes Dons had a much smoother passage with a 7-0 victory against Cheltenham Town in which Olivia Welham and Tate Bullen each scored twice along with Leoni Miceli, Annaliese Jacovides and Leyla O’Brien, meanwhile Assia Fatri, Breanna Medeiros and Maddie Tucker were all on target for Queen’s Park Rangers in their 3-2 success at Keynsham Town, for whom Emily Plummer scored both goals in reply.
One match was played in the Northern Division, Barnsley running out 4-1 winners over Bradford City. Brooke Tully hit a hat-trick and Olivia Darley added the other goal as Barnsley notched up their second victory of the season.
