Argyle 2
Cunningham 55, Greenslade 67
Cardiff 1
Poole 58
Argyle are through to the quarter-final of the FA Women’s National League cup after a thrilling 2-1 win over Cardiff City Ladies at Home Park.
This result marks the Pilgrims first ever win at the Theatre of Greens under Ryan Perks managerial reign, and a crowd of 1,518 delighted supporters were there to witness the momentous occasion first hand.
Zoe Cunningham’s penalty gave Argyle the lead early in the second half, although Cardiff levelled through Emily Poole just two minutes later.
Perks’ side, though, would not be denied, and it fell to the aptly named Lily Greenslade to score the goal on 67 minutes that would ultimately prove to be the winner.
Argyle’s homecoming marked the return of striker Greenslade and experienced defender Jemma Rose, who had been absent from the Greens recent matches due to unavailability. Both slotted straight back into the starting eleven. Cardiff came into the match unbeaten in the FAWNL Division One South West, and had only conceded four goals in total across their season as a whole.
A very tight first half ended goalless, but Argyle will feel they had the better of the chances. Early on, Amber Pollock’s dangerous ball across the area was cut out well by the away goalkeeper, although shortly afterwards, at the other end, Argyle defender Panagiota Papaioannou acted swiftly to stop a menacing City attack.
Perhaps the best chance of the half came just before the half-hour mark, when an Argyle corner fell to Greenslade, whose driven shot was blocked on the line. Cunningham followed up but could only put her shot over the bar.
Just before the break, Pollock broke beyond the Cardiff backline again, and this time found Rosie Train’s brilliantly timed run, but she too could not keep a shot on target.
The breakthrough came 10 minutes into the second half. Argyle won a penalty after Train was brought down just inside the area, and captain Cunningham took responsibility. Her penalty was slotted into the bottom corner, and the Greens had the lead.
Cardiff’s response was quick and telling. Poole received a loose ball inside the 18-yard box and quickly acted by firing the ball into the top right corner. Just three minutes after going behind, the visitors were level.
Not only did they have parity, but suddenly Cardiff also had confidence, and Poole had a chance to put them in front on 61 minutes, getting into the box just shooting high.
Argyle weathered the brief storm and regained the lead midway through the second period. Charlotte Whitmore got down the left flank and sent in a quality, low cross which found Greenslade, whose slight touch on the ball was enough to slot it into the bottom corner and to make it 2-1.
There was no resting on their laurels for Argyle, who looked to get a third to kill the game off rather than protect what they had. Whitmore almost provided that, having two chances in succession that City desperately blocked and cleared.
With only a couple of minutes remaining, Pollock’s shot beat the keeper and again was cleared from the line, but Argyle had a huge scare in stoppage time when Jasmine Read made a superb, and vital save to deny Cardiff the chance of an all-important equaliser!
Argyle regained possession in the final stages of the match and continued to push forward into the oppositions half to extend their lead. The Greens could not get the third but it did not matter as the referee’s whistle blew shortly after, and crowd and players alike burst into celebration.
Argyle now advance into the quarter final of the FAWNL Cup, and will be hosting Portsmouth at Manadon Sports Hub on Sunday, 22 January. The Pilgrims’ next fixture is another cup game at home to Budleigh Salterton Ladies in the ClickHub Devon Womens Premier Cup.
Argyle: 1 Jasmine Read, 4 Jemma Rose, 23 Rosie McDonnell, 5 Panagiota Papaioannou, 3 Rosie Train, 8 Kayley Lane, 18 Imy Crawford, 11 Amber Pollock (17 Tiana Campbell), 10 Zoe Cunningham (20 Beth Ireland), 27 Lily Greenslade, 16 Georgia Wilson (7 Charlotte Whitmore).
