Match Report
Match Report - 26 Oct 2008, Bracknell Town Ladies FC Bracknell Town Ladies beat FA Cup 3rd Rd v Swindon Spitfires
The Robins made the short trip down the M4 to contest this 3rd qualifing round of the Women's FA Cup and returned with a comprehensive victory.
On a really good playing surface, the Robins imposed themselves on the game as early as the 5th minute when Emma Constable's strike could only be parried by the Swindon keeper. Michelle Turner was on hand to sweep the rebound home.
Jen Patterson doubled the lead from a free kick conceded by the Swindon keeper as she handled the ball outside of the penalty area.
Swindon worked hard and forced some uncharacteristic errors from the Bracknell ladies. One such error saw the Swindon number 7 burst into the visitor's penalty area and was subsequently flattened. Huge cries for a penalty which the referee ignored rather bizarrely. However, with this let off, the Robins continued to play well in patches with some neat interplay through midfield.
The third goal arrived courtesy of Jo Whittaker picking up on a pass from Elly Maggs who, in turn, had latched onto an excellent pass from Ali Pankhurst.
The Robins wide players sprung into action when Dawn Campbell beat her defender and fired a great cross into the 6 yard box. The cross was met first time by the onrushing Jo Whittaker who shot gleefully into the net. 4-0.
The Robins continued to play in patches but still, on occasion, conceded possession too cheaply to their hard working hosts. Fortunately, the concentration levels of the Robins defensive unit were maintained so that they could snuff out potential threats before Swindon could test Sam Holloway in the Robins goal.
The 5th goal came on 39 minutes when a Jen Patterson corner was met by Michelle Turner and struck beyond the despairing clutches of the Swindon keeper.
The second half followed a similar pattern to the first with the Robins taking early control. Elly Maggs broke through the Swindon defence to find herself in a 1 v 1 with the keeper. Maggs drew the keeper and then picked her spot to finish with style.
On 53 minutes, Whittaker secured her first hat-trick of the season when she struck first time from just inside the box. The ball into the box again supplied by Dawn Campbell.
Manager Dave Ward then rang the changes and introduced his 3 substitutes with Jen Friar replacing Jo Whittaker, Emma Turner replacing Tasha Boyle and Kim Lockyer replacing Dawn Campbell. The rythm of the game didn't change and Michelle Turner secured her third hat trick of the season with an excellent low drive as she got on the end of a lovely cross from Jen Friar to conclude the scoring.
The Robins can now look forward to the first round proper of the competition for the first time for a few years. Back to league action next week when Southampton Saints will be the visitors to Larges Lane.
FA Cup 3rd Rd v Swindon Spitfires 0 - 8 Bracknell Town Ladies FC Bracknell Town Ladies