ARCHIVE: Match Report - FCUMW v Ashton Town Ladies (Adobe Women’s FA Cup, 2QR)

Last Sunday (23/9) FC United of Manchester Women began their campaign in the Adobe Women's FA Cup, taking on Ashton Town Ladies. Valentina Vettore reports…

In the run up to this fixture, Ashton referred to this match up as being like ‘David and Goliath’ – two tiers below, on paper it certainly looked like a near Sisyphean challenge for them to take on a team that had just come down from Tier 4. The scene of this battle, Broadhurst Park Stadium in all its overcast glory – the grey skies and continuous rain which fans and players alike have grown accustomed to here in Moston. 

Kicking off at 2:04PM, Ashton were clearly wanting to make a mark from the offset. The ball spent a lot of time travelling up and down the pitch as both teams tried to get the first hit in and after 3 minutes, Ashton’s Charley O’Neil was the one to do so after breaking away from the defence. Sophie Donald, FC United keeper, was able to block the first shot but O’Neil was able to finish it on the rebound to gift Ashton a very early goal. 

From there FCUMW had a few attacking opportunities, but they were not capitalised on with a cross from Naomi Lawrence that no one was able to receive on time and a shot from Mia Hayes that was caught by the keeper. Another promising attempt on goal resulted in nothing as Mia Hayes was flagged offside. Ashton Town’s O’Neil looked set to bag a second goal after a big mistake let her through on goal. Sophie Donald successfully made the save and even more fortuitously, the flag was up for offside anyhow but Ashton were certainly looking the more dangerous of the sides at that point.

11 minutes in, finally some luck for FC. Isabella Kershaw was awarded a free kick which she scored to grant us an equaliser. 2 minutes after that, Mia Wildin on her second game for the team since her return to the squad also scored to put FC United ahead.

At the 16 minute mark, it was Ashton’s turn to have their fortunes changed when they were awarded a penalty. Ella Finch, wearing the number 12 shirt, stepped up for the penalty slotting it neatly in the right corner. Donald made the right dive but was not quite able to get on the end of it putting both teams level again.

FC United had another opportunity when Naomi Lawrence’s shot was blocked, the ball rolled off but was still on the pitch and Mia Wildin successfully ran it down for another powerful shot but with the flag up for offside, it amounted to nothing. A second opportunity for Lawrence to get onto the scoresheet occurred just 3 minutes later however as she ran through the middle, evading their defenders to go one on one with the keeper and opting for a low shot close to the box – the type of goal that was not too dissimilar from the goals she scored during last year’s British University & College Sport (BUCS) campaign which saw Manchester Met 1’s win the league, and Lawrence as one of the top 3 goal scorers in BUCS in the country. 

A great cross comes in in the 36th minute which Katie Smith gets nicely under control before gifting FC their 4th goal. Despite the 2 goal lead, Ashton were still rather relentless and eager to capitalise on any blunders – a mistake giving them possession in the 43rd minute left Shaunna Jein no choice but to boot it away in favour of a corner. The ball was crossed in, blocked and Donald pushed it over the netting for a second corner. The second time, Donald was able to catch the ball more comfortably.

The second half saw FC make use of the bench with McVay, Griffin, Lambert and notably Donnelly who was another recent return.

Whilst the second half was more subdued comparatively, the closing few minutes were nothing short of lively with some strong attempts from both sides. With only 1 minute of the additional 5 remaining, came the 5th goal for FC United from Ellie Lambert who was a substitute for Lawrence in the 80th minute – a fantastic solo goal. And after that, 3 blows of the whistle and a hearty cheer from the crowd as FC United of Manchester Women’s secure their place in the next round of the Adobe Women’s FA Cup.

The manager shared his reflection on the match stating that he was, 

“delighted with the result. Are there areas of the performance that we feel could have been better? Absolutely. But we’re still in the very early stages of our time here and we’re trying to build a team in all aspects which will take time. It’s important to focus on the positives – we’ve scored 5 goals; we’ve won and we’re through to the next round of the FA Cup. The players that came on all did well, worked hard and made an impact. Ellie came on and scored a great solo goal. [The] first half was very lively and probably a little more chaotic than we’d like. Second half was a bit more controlled from us. [On our upcoming match against Didsbury] We’ll prepare well for the game and it’s important we build on today’s win and go full for the 3 points next Sunday.”

FC United of Manchester Women play their next fixture Sunday 29th September at Broadhurst Park against West Didsbury and Chorlton as part of the North West Regional Women’s League.

Photography: Lewis McKenna