Albion Women were knocked out of the FA Women’s Cup on Sunday following a 4-2 defeat at Reading in a pulsating third-round tie.It sums up a disappointing couple of weeks for Jay Lovett’s side, who were eliminated from the Premier League Cup by Cardiff the previous week.
The Seagulls started the match very brightly and had a number of early opportunities on the Royals’ goal. Lily Agg saw her long-range effort sail narrowly over the bar before Charlotte Gurr’s free-kick produced a comfortable save by keeper Grace Moloney.
Albion were rewarded for their positive start in the 25th minute when Agg headed in Kirsty Barton’s corner, but the Royals almost immediately brought parity to the scoreline, as Alice Palmer slipped inside the box before taking her shot.
The away side could then have easily doubled their advantage when another corner by Barton was met by Charley Boswell, who saw her close-range effort smash the crossbar.
But Lovett’s side made the worst possible start to the second-half, as two goals in the opening two minutes after the interval served as a real blow to Albion’s confidence.
Charlotte Chard equalised for the hosts as her looping shot from just outside the area rose above keeper Charlotte Sole and into the net, before Beth Lloyd unleashed a powerful shot into the right-hand corner to make it 2-1.
Albion’s first-half dominance was now a distant memory, as Reading went in search of a third goal.
Lloyd nearly grabbed her second of the match but slipped just as she pulled the trigger, seeing her shot hit the post. Cheryl Williams’s free-kick then went just over the bar moments later.
The third goal eventually came in the 81st minute and Albion once again fell victim to another long-range shot, this time from Palmer, whose strike looked to have settled the match.
Although the Seagulls showed character to come back and set up a potentially tense finale, as Catherine O’Hagan ended a lovely move with a tap-in at the far post just two minutes later.
But Reading secured safe passage into the fourth round when Palmer netted her second of the match; her first strike was saved by Sole, before slotting home at the second attempt.
Manager Lovett was very disappointed with the way his side fell apart after putting in a superb first-half performance.
He told Seagulls.co.uk, “If ever there was a cliché of a game of two halves, we saw it today. In the first-half we were absolutely outstanding, we passed the ball around fantastically and scored a very good goal.
“In the second half we didn’t come out with the same intensity, they scored two early goals and put us on the back foot, causing our football to go out the window. It’s a massive shame but I’ll learn a lot about the girls’ character now in the coming weeks.”
Albion: Sole (GK); Cheshire (Burt 60), Ryan (c), Rabson, Boswell; Barton, Agg, Gurr; O’Hagan, Stenning (Parks 87), Khassal. Sub not used: James.*
Original article
The Seagulls started the match very brightly and had a number of early opportunities on the Royals’ goal. Lily Agg saw her long-range effort sail narrowly over the bar before Charlotte Gurr’s free-kick produced a comfortable save by keeper Grace Moloney.
Albion were rewarded for their positive start in the 25th minute when Agg headed in Kirsty Barton’s corner, but the Royals almost immediately brought parity to the scoreline, as Alice Palmer slipped inside the box before taking her shot.
The away side could then have easily doubled their advantage when another corner by Barton was met by Charley Boswell, who saw her close-range effort smash the crossbar.
But Lovett’s side made the worst possible start to the second-half, as two goals in the opening two minutes after the interval served as a real blow to Albion’s confidence.
Charlotte Chard equalised for the hosts as her looping shot from just outside the area rose above keeper Charlotte Sole and into the net, before Beth Lloyd unleashed a powerful shot into the right-hand corner to make it 2-1.
Albion’s first-half dominance was now a distant memory, as Reading went in search of a third goal.
Lloyd nearly grabbed her second of the match but slipped just as she pulled the trigger, seeing her shot hit the post. Cheryl Williams’s free-kick then went just over the bar moments later.
The third goal eventually came in the 81st minute and Albion once again fell victim to another long-range shot, this time from Palmer, whose strike looked to have settled the match.
Although the Seagulls showed character to come back and set up a potentially tense finale, as Catherine O’Hagan ended a lovely move with a tap-in at the far post just two minutes later.
But Reading secured safe passage into the fourth round when Palmer netted her second of the match; her first strike was saved by Sole, before slotting home at the second attempt.
Manager Lovett was very disappointed with the way his side fell apart after putting in a superb first-half performance.
He told Seagulls.co.uk, “If ever there was a cliché of a game of two halves, we saw it today. In the first-half we were absolutely outstanding, we passed the ball around fantastically and scored a very good goal.
“In the second half we didn’t come out with the same intensity, they scored two early goals and put us on the back foot, causing our football to go out the window. It’s a massive shame but I’ll learn a lot about the girls’ character now in the coming weeks.”
Albion: Sole (GK); Cheshire (Burt 60), Ryan (c), Rabson, Boswell; Barton, Agg, Gurr; O’Hagan, Stenning (Parks 87), Khassal. Sub not used: James.*
Original article