Ladies win through in tight League Cup clash
Carlisle United ladies v AFC Urmston, Sunday 22 February, North West Women’s Regional League Cup
Following a nine week off, due to the bad weather, the ladies were back in action last weekend when it was in at the deep end with a League Cup meeting with AFC Urmston.
Urmston had been lucky enough to get a few games under their belts through the bad spell so it was always going to be a test.
The weather took a bad turn ahead of kick off, with icy winds and hailstones the order of the day at Creighton, and both teams started tentatively as they tried to deal with the conditions and edge on top.
United settled better as they probed through the middle of the park and they broke the deadlock on 18 minutes when Dunn won it in midfield. She fed a lovely ball into the box and McGimpsey took it in her stride before slotting it into the bottom corner.
A knock on the knee for Simpson ended her game, but Carlisle didn’t allow that to upset their game as they created a number of good chances through an entertaining first half.
The game followed the same pattern after the break but a lack of match sharpness meant Carlisle struggled to finish off some of the good football they played. Browbank went close to adding to the lead, with a dipping free kick which shaved the outside of the upright, but Urmston came right into it as they attacked at every opportunity.
It was end to end, particularly as the teams tired in the latter stages, but the home side held on to book themselves a place in the quarter finals against Premier Division Preston North End.
Manager Tracy Gannon said: “We always knew it was going to be tough due to the lack of games and not playing since the start of December.
“You can train as much as you like during periods like that but you do still need game time. We wanted to try and get through the game with limited injuries but, unfortunately, that wasn't to be.
“We now have a tough run over the next three weeks with Bury this Sunday, then two cup games back to back. That isn't ideal but we’ll give it everything we've got. It’s just a shame those girls who took knocks in this game will miss out on the cup games after their hard work this season.”
“This game suffered from a lack of sharpness, and the poor weather conditions didn’t help,” she added. “I was just pleased the girls held on after they had worked so hard.
“It was also good that we had the opportunity to play two of the girls from the U16 side – Jazz Dunn and Elisha James. It’s good experience for them because they will move up to the first team next season.”
United - Edmondson, Ullyart, Mallin, Martin (James), Smethurst, Simpson (Ullyart), Robinson(c), Dunn, Browbank, McGimpsey, Mallinson (Comber).
Player of the game - Sharina Robinson (c).
