21st October 2024

Photo courtesy of Marc Payne Photography.
Cheltenham Town Women advanced to the Quarter Finals of the FA Women’s National League Plate with an impressive 2-1 victory over Wolverhampton Wanderers Women at Kayte Lane yesterday.
The Robinesses brought the visitors unbeaten run of seven games to an end with goals from Maisy Collis (pictured) and captain Emily Owen.
The contest started out slowly, as the teams sized each other up, with nobody wanting to make a mistake. The visitors were limited to chances from distance, with both Ania Denham and Amber Hughes blazing over the bar from outside of the 18-yard box.
Despite the slow start, business picked up after just 14 minutes, as Maisy Collis collected a Wolves clearance and rifled her shot from the edge of the penalty area, finding the top right corner and giving Charlotte Clarke in the Wolves goal no chance.
Buoyed by their opener, Cheltenham set about looking for a second and didn’t have to wait long to find it. Chaos in the form of a goalmouth scramble in front of the Wolves goal saw Emily Owen poke home to double the Robinesses’ advantage.
A stunned Wolves were keen to respond, and they found themselves halving the deficit through Anna Morphet. The Wolves captain stepping up and slotting home a free-kick on the edge of the Cheltenham box for her 50th Wolves goal.
With the intensity increasing, Wolves almost pulled themselves level on 26 minutes, as Beth Roberts found space down the left wing and picked out Denham with a cross, forcing Carys Pugh-Jones into a save.
Despite an entertaining first half an hour, neither side would be able to extend their scoring, despite a number of chances, with Cheltenham taking the lead in at the break.
The Robinesses came out firing after the break, with Lacy-Jai Liggett almost adding a third after finding room on the right side of the Wolves box and whipping the ball across the face of goal, but a low hand from Clarke kept the ball from going in.
Wolves continued to be frustrated by the efforts of the home side. Becky Anderson produced a superb flick to allow Morphet to equalise, but she couldn’t bring the ball down well under pressure and the chance went begging.
With time ticking down, the intensity increased again, with Cheltenham pushing for their third while Wolves looked to keep hold of possession.
It started to feel like nothing would drop for Wolves, who squandered a number of goalmouth scrambles and set-pieces. Beth Merrick stepped up to a 90th minute free-kick, zipping the ball into the Cheltenham danger area but nobody in an amber shirt could get on the end of it.
Cheltenham would tighten up in the dying minutes, shutting the door at every opportunity and doing enough to put themselves in the Quarter-Final.
Cheltenham: Pugh-Jones, Hateley, Collis, Liggett, Attenborough (Leach 85), Bell (Trinci 67), Llewellyn, Wellsley-Davis, Owen, Greenwood, Lue (Butcher 75).
Cheltenham Player of the Match:
Chosen By Opposition: Emily Owen
Chosen By Sponsor: Emily Owen
Attendance: 153