West Didsbury & Chorlton marched into the third qualifying round of the SSE Women’s FA Cup with a comprehensive 5-0 win away to Tingley Athletic.
There was just one change for West from the previous week’s 11-3 Challenge Cup win over Curzon Ashton as Vicky Frisby was handed her full debut in the centre of midfield.
On a narrow sloping pitch it was natural that the hosts acclimatised to the conditions quicker and had the game’s opening chance on three minutes but couldn’t find the target after a quick response to Katherine Ormerod to race from her line to close down the danger.
West’s first chance came from Elizabeth Livesey on 5 minutes but she could only roll her effort into the goalkeepers gloves. A minute late Rachael Dunlop released Jami Hodges with an exquisite pass inside the full back only to see her effort cannon off the crossbar. Dunlop should have given West the lead on 12 minutes when Frisby’s perfectly weighted ball found Bracegirdle, whose cross found Dunlop six yards out forcing the goalkeeper into a point blank save before forcing an equally good stop with the rebound.
The lead eventually came on 22 minutes as Ellie Caddick won possession inside the Tingley half, looked up and curled a perfectly weighted ball into the path of Livesey. The West centre forward’s first touch was perfect allowing her to stroke the ball through the legs of the keeper with her second touch.
West had a further chance to extend their lead on 30 minutes when Captain Shauna Edmondson saw her header cleared off the line from a corner. However, it was 2-0 on 33 minutes as Chloe Spencer collected the ball from a throw in, allowing it to run across her body before rifling an unstoppable first time effort into the top left hand corner.
Half time came and went with little action of note for either side as the wind and the rain took control of the game until the 71st minute when a lovely ball from Dunlop found Hodges whose low cross found Spencer but was this time denied by a terrific reflex save from the Tingley goalkeeper to tip it round the post. Proving it was no fluke the Tingley number one again came to the home sides rescue as she tipped a powerful low El Powles effort round the other post from the resulting corner.
The third goal eventually came on 74 minutes as Dunlop was played in down the line, holding off her marker before firing into the roof of the net from the narrowest of angles. Her second arrived five minutes later as Bracegirdle was released down the right with an inch perfect cross field pass before squaring into the stride of Dunlop who rolled it into the bottom corner for her 7th goal of the season.
There was time for one more as an Edmondson throw in was flicked on by Amy Vyas allowing Sophie Bracegirdle to coolly lift it over the keeper to make it 5-0. Vyas almost added her first goal for the club with the final kick off the game as she rattled an effort off the underside of the crossbar.
The win ensured West reached the third qualifying round for the second straight year as they look to match last year’s feat of reaching the first round proper.
