AFC Wimbledon Ladies march into first round proper
AFC Wimbledon Ladies marched into the first round proper of the SSE Women’s FA Cup and Chris Lyons praised the influence of Under-18s manager Mark Robinson afterwards.
A 4-2 win against Denham United, thanks to a double from Laura Low and goals from Sian Wylie (pictured) and Yasmin Poole, secured a tie in the next round at Norwich City or Lowestoft Town.
Manager Chris Lyons said: “I thought our game tempo was superb. It’s something we’ve been focusing on recently and I think we’ve improved on this considerably. Mark Robinson has been working with us for the past few weeks, and he’s helped us take it up a level. Both on and off the ball, we are a lot more dynamic and I don’t think 4-2 totally reflected the game. We had four cleared off the line, and we looked very dangerous from every set play. The movement from our front players was also very good, and it was good to see Katie Stanley put in a very good debut. It’s always good to stay in a competition of this magnitude and we’re now through to the first round proper.”
In a match staged at Cobham United, Wimbledon made a swift start and chances created too. Low was denied by the keeper, but it was only a temporary reprieve for Denham. A corner from Wylie was only half cleared and her subsequent shot was a superb one as it arrowed towards the top corner to put Wimbledon 1-0 up. The Dons doubled the advantage on the stroke of half-time when a long-range strike from Emma Keady was parried by the goalkeeper and Low slotted home from close-range.
It only took two minutes for the Dons to take control of the game again after the restart. Wylie played a cross into the box which was only half cleared and Low’s fierce first-time shot from the edge of the area made it 3-0. The high tempo of the game continued and 10 minutes later the Dons marched into a 4-0 lead. A ball into the box from the right wing found Keady on the penalty spot and showed fine control to set-up Poole, who slotted home emphatically.
Denham fought back and made the most of the last 25 minutes, scoring two goals within five minutes, but the Dons finished on the attack with only the woodwork stopping them adding to their account.
AFC Wimbledon – Salgado, Wylie (72 Klatt), Houghton-North, O’Halloran, Billingham, Poole, Trimnell, Sargent, Low, Keady, Stanley (75 Fever). Subs not used Marlow, Clark, Hoesli-Atkins.
The ladies are back at Sutton United this Sunday (2.00 pm kick-off) with a league game against Luton Town.