Norwich City had Kayla Love to thank after her late winner ensured they progressed in the tie of the round against Queens Park Rangers, as the FA WPL Cup came back with a bang on Sunday.
There was a minute’s applause before the game at Norwich in memory of Zoe Tynan, which resonated around the country as every side paid their respects to the Fylde Ladies’ player who tragically passed away last week.
And it was the Canaries who triumphed 3-2 after a five-goal thriller which swung both ways throughout the 90 minutes.
Women's Premier League Cup
First Round
Sunday 4 September 2016
By Jack Miller
After the hosts cancelled out Jenny Critchley’s early opener for QPR, Ebony Wiseman caught out Victoria Caldwell in the Londoners’ goal from 25 yards to turn the tie on its head before the break.
But following a period of sustained QPR pressure, Liv Thompson hit back with a 25-yarder of her own to level things up, before Love scored from close range with ten minutes remaining.
Cambridge United and Lewes could not be separated in 90 minutes or extra time, but the U’s scraped through after winning the penalty shootout.
Georgia Bridges and Charlie Carter gave visitors Lewes a two-goal advantage, but Cambridge fought back through Nicole Perschky who bagged a double either side of the interval – with the second dramatically coming deep into time added on.
Paige Logie’s own goal looked to have won it for Lewes, but again the U’s hit back through Perschky, whose unlikely hat-trick set the scene for a shoot-out where Dawn Mallet stroked home the decisive kick.
Elsewhere there were big wins over lower-league opposition for Blackburn Rovers, Stoke City, and Tottenham Hotspur – who each racked up double-digit scores against Rotherham United, Birmingham & West Midlands, and West Ham United respectively.
It was seventh heaven for Derby County as they beat Steel City Wanderers 7-0, with Lisa Giampalma bagging a double on her home debut, while Coventry United were on cloud nine at home to Maidenhead United as Maz Gauntlett struck five times in a 9-0 triumph.
Meanwhile goals either side of half-time for Danielle Young and Alice Forshaw meant a brave Fylde finished off a difficult week with a 2-1 win over Huddersfield Town, Bianca Owens’ brace helped Middlesbrough to a 3-0 win at Morecambe, and Sarah Burn’s extra-time winner also kept Newcastle United in the hat against Leicester City.
And Gemma Bryan and Roschelle Shakes helped Crystal Palace scrape past Keynsham Town, but there were no such problems for Charlton Athletic who swept Shanklin aside thanks to Gemma Shepherd’s four goals.
