Swindon Town Women overturned an early setback as they put their name in the hat for the next round of the FA Cup following their 3-1 away victory to Liskeard Athletic.
Despite their early pressure, Town found themselves 1-0 down after a composed finish from no.10 Chloe Williams who slotted the ball past Emily McGrogan.
After falling behind, the visitors fought back, and found an equaliser through Megan Jarvis with the no.7 first to pounce on the loose ball from Liskeard’s Sara Rowe.
Town put themselves in a strong position at the break after Billie Haynes converted her first goal of the season before substitute Annie Colston put the game out of sight with a third goal, and secured their next round status.
First Half
Richard Wood’s side began strong after a dominant display through their high press and clinical passing but, despite causing problems, Liskeard denied Town any clear-cut chances.
Fending off the pressure, Liskeard began to work themselves into the game, and grabbed a goal through the in-form Williams.
The lead was short lived as Town responded well as they equalised through Jarvis, who was able to react first and get on the end of the rebound spilled by McGrogan.
The equaliser sparked motivation in Wood’s side as they pushed for a second ahead of the break and their efforts paid off as midfielder Haynes produced for her side to put them 2-1 up.
A strong close to the half saw Town flying as they looked for more, but the side couldn’t convert as they led 2-1 at the break.
Second Half
Town came out firing in the second half as Helena Diaz-Butcher almost doubled their lead following two close chances but the efforts drifted just wide.
Only a goal down, Liskeard remained in the game with Hannah Prisk providing a goal-line clearance after Town’s Jess Graham flashed the ball across the face of goal into the feet of Grace Purnell.
A third goal for Town was looked more likely as Mia Mugford went close, almost burying her chance on the counter attack but the low driven shot rolled wide of the post.
Wood called upon experience with just 15 minutes to go as goal scorer Colston entered the fray.
Just moments later, the substitute’s goalscoring form continued as the forward smashed the ball home past McGrogan, all but confirming their place in the next round.
The third goal from Colston was enough as Liskeard ran out of ideas, and allowed Town to dominate the final moments, wrapping the game up at 3-1.
Despite the positive result, manager Wood highlighted the difficulties: “Challenging conditions, a very long journey for us today and they got the early goal which made it even harder for us.
“It wasn’t pretty, it didn’t really need to be, but the girls showed really good resilience to get through the game and in the end, it was comfortable but there will be games like this, particularly in the cup.
“You can’t make excuses; upon arrival we had a game plan and I think we did better in the second half.
“These types of games can be frustrating, but everyone kept their heads and that’s a really good sign as there’s going to be games like this.”
Wood’s side will now have to wait to find out their fate with the FA Cup draw set to take place on Monday, October 23rd at 13:00.
