Abingdon United 0-6 Bristol Rovers
Women's FA Cup, The Northcourt, Sunday 25 October
Bristol Rovers Women showed their ruthless side as they beat Abingdon United 6-0 to progress to the Second Round Proper of the FA Cup.
Libby Davies kicked off the scoring after 23 minutes, with Annys Turner’s strike from distance then extending the lead to give the Gas Girls a two-goal lead going into the break.
In the second half, the dominance continued. Nia Rees capitalised on a misplaced clearance just minutes following the restart, before Davies’ second as well as goals from Lilia Dempsey and Lashai McNama made it six for a rampant Rovers.
Nathan Hallett-Young’s side will now re-enter the hat courtesy of their deserved win, finding out their opponents for the Second Round of the FA Cup on Monday, October 26 at 7PM.
With the 2-0 league win in Oxfordshire fresh in the mind from a fortnight ago, Rovers were aiming to replicate that performance to see themselves progress in the cup this time. The affair got off to a cagey start, but it was the Gas who had the first good attempts.
McNama kicked things off by intercepting a pass on the left and bursting through on goal, but just miscalculated her finish from a promising position. Davies then played a nice ball through to Gipsy Viveash, who forced the defence to put it behind as the Gas continued to up the tempo.
And that pressure soon paid off with a predictable scorer. After Viveash found space on the right to cut in and try her luck, the ball fell kindly to Davies for an easy finish to put Rovers ahead in the cup tie and further extend her goalscoring tally.
With momentum on their side, the Gas kept pushing forward. Rees found space but couldn’t quite test Maisie Thompson, while Jodie Exley had a shot from range deflected out for a corner.
And it was from the resulting set piece that Rovers doubled their advantage before the half-hour mark. Going short, Viveash rolled it to Layah Douglas, who in turn squared for Turner. The defender took one touch and unleashed an effort from 30 yards, with the strike clipping a defender’s head on the way into the top left corner.
Viveash had a half-chance soon after, forcing Thompson to palm her near post effort behind, as the Gas took their lead into the break.
It didn’t take long for the first decisive action of the second half, with Rees finding the back of the net within a matter of minutes. Continuing where they left off, Rovers pressed high and forced Thompson into misplacing her clearance, allowing Rees to nip in and finish across goal unchallenged for her side’s third of the afternoon.
The goalscoring didn’t stop there either, as Davies grabbed her second with a smart finish. Receiving the ball inside the box, Rovers’ number nine turned nicely onto her stronger right foot to give herself enough room to finish into the top left corner.
Hallett-Young then turned to his bench to keep things fresh, replacing Emily Wilkinson, Rees, Viveash, Davies, and Exley with Freya Gordon, Bella Tweddle, Dempsey, Helena Costa, and Anais Trinci by the 70th minute.
Dempsey quickly got to work and was well amongst the action on the right. The winger ultimately proved too hot to handle and, following a perfectly weighted through ball by Ruby Scahill, finished into the bottom corner for Rovers’ fifth.
And it would be six shortly after. Dempsey was involved again, running the defence ragged before putting a ball into the box that just evaded Costa, but was tapped in by McNama at the back post.
Tweddle then looked to combine with Costa, who almost snuck another in at a tight angle. Gordon also had a great chance for seven from Trinci’s corner, while Scahill tried to get in on the action from range, but Rovers had to settle for the half dozen and will now await their opponents for the next round of the FA Cup.
Bristol Rovers XI: Simpson, Douglas ©, Moises, Turner, Wilkinson (Gordon 56), Scahill, Exley (Trinci 69), Viveash (Dempsey 65), Rees (Tweddle 56), McNama, Davies (Costa 69)
Goalscorers: Davies (23, 55), Turner (28), Rees (47), Dempsey (72), McNama (79)
Unused subs: Temple
HALLETT-YOUNG: THESE ARE THE SUNDAYS YOU ENJOY MOST
Q: A 6-0 win and a place in the second round. What did you make of the performance?
It was a really positive performance and a good reaction to last week. That result felt a bit of an anomaly because we probably didn't deserve to lose. We wanted to put that right today. We've been creating chances but not always converting them, and I think we showed our quality in front of goal this afternoon.
Defensively, we were solid, and the players executed the game plan really well. More than anything, we asked them to go out there and outwork the opposition, and that's exactly what they did. We knew what to expect coming here, especially with the pitch and conditions, but I thought we handled both really well. We were switched on from the first minute to the last, and the scoreline reflects that.
Q: Was there a goal that particularly pleased you?
What pleased me most was the build-up play. Alice's goal from the set piece was particularly nice and showed the work we've been putting into those situations. A lot of the goals came from patterns we've worked on in training, so it's rewarding to see that come through on a matchday.
Q: How pleasing is it to progress in the competition?
These are the Sundays you enjoy most. Everything you've worked on in training comes together, and you get the result you want. In the FA Cup, games can change in an instant, so it was important that we stayed focused after going ahead. We managed the game really well and continued to build on our lead, which was pleasing to see.
Q: Any preference for the second-round draw?
We'll take whoever comes out of the hat. Whether it's a team from a lower division or a higher one, it's still a cup tie and a challenge we'll embrace. If it's a team below us, we need to show why we're at our level. If it's a team above us, then it's an opportunity to test ourselves. Either way, we're looking forward to it, and we'll be aiming to put ourselves in the hat for the third round.
DOUGLAS: WE JUST WANT TO GO AS FAR AS WE CAN IN THE COMPETITION
Q: Into the second round of the FA Cup with a dominant performance. What are your thoughts?
We're buzzing. It was important for us to bounce back from last week. I don't think we played badly last week, but the result didn't go our way, so it was nice to put a scoreline together and get ourselves moving again. It was a tough place to come; the surface wasn't ideal, but we still managed to play our football and get the result we wanted.
Q: Was there a goal that stood out for you today?
I'd probably say Lilia's. The way she took it around the defenders was brilliant. She was unreal when she came on, so she deserves a big shoutout.
Q: Looking ahead to the second-round draw, who would you like?
We'd like a nice draw, of course, but we just want to go as far as we can in the competition. A good draw would be great for us, and we're excited to see who we get.
