Town Women progress to FA Cup Fourth Round
- Town 3-1 Loughborough Lightning
- Brittany Sanderson (x2) and Laura Elford on scoresheet
- Terriers await next opponent in draw on Monday 13 December
The Vitality Women’s FA Cup Fourth Round draw will have Huddersfield Town Women’s name in the hat following a competitive game against fellow league side Loughborough Lightning.
Town Women left it late to find a crucial winner then two came at once, with Laura Elford converting a tap-in in the 89th minute, before Britt Sanderson put the game beyond doubt before the full-time whistle with a stunning direct free kick.
Previously the Terriers beat Sir Tom Finney Ladies 20-0 in the First Round, before welcoming Sheffield FC in the Second Round, seeing out a 3-0 win.
The first half was a somewhat cagey affair, seeing both sides miss several good chances. Most notably, a brilliant save from Kiya Webb to keep out Town’s Ria Montgomery.
It was the second half that saw Town’s breakthrough. In the 48th minute, Sanderson took advantage of a miss hit goal kick and was finally able to beat Webb to break the deadlock between both sides.
However, the lead didn’t last for long as a direct free kick from wide allowed the visitors to equalise, as the ball sailed over everyone’s heads and into the back of the net.
The riposte from Town to being pegged back was good though as they continued to mount pressure in search of a winner. This eventually paid off as Elford got onto the end of a Kate Mallin cross on the 89th minute mark to restore Town’s lead.
Their lead was added to four minutes later, as Sanderson fired a fierce free kick into the back of the net to seal the Terriers’ qualification into the Fourth Round of the Women’s FA Cup.
Speaking on the game, Coach Kamran Hussain said:
“Despite the performance, we still scored some good goals, even if they did come later than we thought”.
Sunday’s game was dedicated to Stonewall’s Rainbow Laces campaign.
We would like to thank Huddersfield Town for donating their LGBTQ+ corner flags, that were previously used at the John Smiths Stadium against Coventry City.
We’d also like to extend a massive thank you to ‘Proud Terriers’ for coming down to the Stafflex Arena to watch the game.
Town Women are back in action on Sunday 19 December 2021, against Loughborough Lightning (again!), as the Terriers look to progress into the next round of the FAWNL Cup.
Photo by Jess Hornby.
