Oxford United Women 3
King 5, Burridge 42, McLachlan 70
Argyle 0
Argyle's run in the Vitality Women's FA Cup came to an end, as Oxford United knocked the travelling Greens out in the third round at Court Place Farm.
An early goal from Sarah King gave Oxford an early lead which they doubled through former Pilgrim Leah Burridge in the final few minutes of the first half. Argyle had a multitude of chances in both halves and came close to scoring on multiple occasions, but it was not enough to turn the tide for the visitors who found themselves three goals down before the final whistle blew.
Oxford took an early lead through King’s short-range effort five minutes into the start of the match. Argyle attempted to respond through a series of crosses and shots from range, but Oxford’s defence kept the visitors at bay. Charlotte Whitmore and Zoe Cunningham both attempted to disrupt the Oxford defence on multiple occasions, the closest of the two being Whitmore with a one-on-one chance that keeper Rose Kite cleared in the nick of time.
Georgia Wilson got the Greens’ biggest chance in the later stages of the half via a perfectly weighted pass over the defensive line. Wilson, through on the goalkeeper, was inches away from levelling the match, but Kite once again rushed to the edge of the area and cleared the ball from danger.
A ball into the box from Daisy McLachlan found Burridge in the centre of the penalty area, and she doubled the home side's lead with a finish from close range that flew under the diving Read in goal.
Although two goals down, Argyle persevered from the restart. Whitmore and Cunningham continued to cause issues for the U’s. Whitmore came closest in the 64th minute with another one-on-one chance that Kite smothered once again.
Oxford’s third goal came six minutes later from McLachlan, whose shot on the edge of the area flew into the bottom right corner after a slight deflection.
With time running out, Argyle still searched for a way back into the match. Cunningham and substitute Amber Pollock continued to wriggle their way into dangerous areas, but it was not enough to break the opposition's clean sheet and shortly afterwards the referee whistle blew for full time.
The Greens will now look to revive their winning run in the FA Women's National League Cup on Sunday 18thDecember, as they take on Cardiff City Ladies at Manadon Sports Hub.
Argyle: 1 Jasmine Read, 3 Rosie Train (22 Anna Barnes), 23 Rosie McDonnell, 4 Panagiota Papaioannou (6 Lucy Hack), 17 Tiana Campbell (14 Sam Cox), 18 Imy Crawford, 20 Beth Ireland, 16 Georgia Wilson, 13 Katie Dickson (11 Amber Pollock), 10 Zoe Cunningham, 7 Charlotte Whitmore.
