Moors Ladies made it through to the Third Round Qualifying of the Women’s FA Cup after a dramatic penalty shootout win over Gateshead Rutherford on Sunday.
Brent Smithson’s side did it the hard way at The Brewery Field but finally got the better of their Tyneside visitors on spot kicks after the game had finished 2-2 in 90 minutes.
It was Moors who got on the front foot early on and could have snatched the lead inside a minute when Autumn Colledge’s header grazed the bar after good work from Katy Hemmingway.
Jess Dawson also fired an effort into the side netting for Moors before Rutherford came into the game and had a couple of decent chances themselves as the tie developed.
Hemmingway was then denied by the visiting keeper after being sent through by Dawson, while Becca Drinkald drew another good save from the resulting corner.
The visitors broke the deadlock to go 1-0 in front on 28 minutes, but Moors responded almost immediately to level things up when Autumn Colledge escaped in behind to score a minute later.
Both sides had goals disallowed for offside before Holly Doogan put Moors in front for the first time with a superb curling effort which found a way past Rutherford’s in-form keeper and into the top corner.
There were fewer clearcut chances for either side after the break, but Autumn Colledge did close with a shot which flew just wide following some good play from Dawson.
But it was Rutherford who found the net next, bringing themselves level on 73 minutes to set up a tense finish which saw another brilliant save from the visiting keeper in injury time.
Autumn Colledge, Becca Drinkald and Alex Saunders all then converted their penalties in the shootout, while Saunders also made two crucial saves as Moors prevailed 3-1.
“I thought it was our worst performance of the season,” admitted Smithson afterwards.
“We had trained well in the build-up to the game and discussed what we expected Rutherford would do, so to go out and not play to our full potential was disappointing.
“We should have controlled the game much better – but they came together in the shootout, there was lots of positivity and support for the takers, and I had a feeling we’d be successful.”
Full Time: Moors 2 Rutherford 2 (Moors win 3-1 on penalties)
Moors: Saunders, Knox, Drinkald, Newton, Richardson, A Colledge, Doogan, Elliott, Hemmingway, Dawson, McIntosh.
Subs: Enguita, Steele, Jackson, Brischuk, Gray.
Attendance: 235
