It took 30 minutes of extra time but eventually the ladies made it through to the third qualifying round of the Women’s FA Cup.
After beating Friar Lane in the 1st qualifying round Long Eaton were keen to progress further but would have to get past Oadby and Wigston first.
It was the Leicester sides first visit to Grange Park despite currently playing in the same league.
Long Eaton started well, playing some good football, attacking Oadby’s back four who only just stood up under the pressure.
Despite the Long Eaton dominance the visitors had a quick forward who they used to threaten the Blues goal but she was dealt with by the solid Blues back line.
The ladies had chances to go ahead early on in the game but lacked finishing quality.
However they then took the lead as Lisa Jones found herself unmarked to head in Carly Hayes corner, 1-0 to the Blues.
Now with a 1-goal cushion the Blues could start to play the football they are capable of and pushed for more goals, although when half time arrived they were still only one up.
With the start of the second half the ladies tried to put more goals past a poor Oadby side, however standards slipped and gradually the visitors forced themselves back in the game. Then when pressure was put on the Long Eaton back four a bad back pass let in the Oadby striker who clinically put the ball past the Long Eaton keeper to put them level and leaving the Blues cup ambitions hanging in the balance.
With only 10 minutes remaining it was time the Blues pulled their socks up but despite more opportunities the whistle went for full time leaving both teams to face extra time.
The Blues did not want to jeopardise their cup future so after a quick pep talk from the management the ladies got fired up to fight for the win.
It was evident from the restart that the Blues wanted it more and dominated the play, pressurising the visitors defence and it didn’t take long for Hayley Armstrong to capitalise on the rebound from Charlotte Healy’s effort to easily slot past the Oadby keeper.
The relief from the Blues team and the crowd was clear, but there was still 25 minutes to play and it was essential the home side kept their composure.
However the ladies had really found their stride now and the Leicester side had been worn down, enabling Lisa Jones to snatch her second of the game with another header.
By now it was a case of running down the time as they began the second half of extra time. There was tired legs all round but Chloe Madden still managed to slot a perfect ball through for Hayley Armstrong who’s shot went in off the far post.
Final Score after extra time, 4 – 1 to the Blues.
The ladies performance in extra time was definitely worthy of the win, finally showing their quality by scoring 3 goals in 30 minutes.
The 3rd and final qualifying round of the Women’s FA Cup will be played on 25th October where the Blues will host Premier League outfit Peterborough Azure, another tough challenge that the ladies will relish.
