Sheffield Wednesday Ladies bag five in cup win to round off winning weekend for SWFC

The home side came into the SHWGL Cup tie in fine form, winning five on the bounce across all competitions, and manager, Kieron Lee, opted for an attacking side to take on a side that Wednesday beat with flying colours in a 8-1 victory earlier in the season.

It was always going to be a tough day at the office for the away side, who started the 90 with just ten players due to an injury list that hit double figures, and the Owlessess set out to take advantage of the extra player from the off. They were constantly looking at playing throughballs over the top for goal threat Amy Broomhead, a player in scintillating form this season so far.

The striker, who previous to this tie had scored 11 from six starts, was accompanied in a three with Rachel Norsworthy and Sadie Hooper, a decision that led to a regular three v three battles with the depleted Socrates defence.

As little as 20 minutes into the first half, Groundhog Day struck again as Broomhead was set up on the edge of the box by Hooper, and Wednesday’s number eight made no mistake, dispatching a corker past Socrates keeper Ella Williams.

Minutes later, Broomhead came close to a second, and though a terrific double save from the away keeper kept visitors in the game, the extra player in the ranks for Wednesday was clear to see, and they spent long spells in the latter stages of the first half camped in their opponents half.

During this spell SWLFC’s top scorer uncharacteristically struck the ball wide of an open net after stretching for the ball played in from the left by Eleanor Vessey, but it was not a chance that they would live to rue as Rachel Norsworthy broke down the left hand side not long after, slotting it past the keeper on their near side. 2-0.

And, just like buses, two came at once for the hosts. Broomhead, wasting no time in putting that earlier missed chance behind her, hammered home a killer blow to the away side. The scoreline and depleted squad list didn’t dampen their spirits, though,and goalkeeper, Kirsty Tonner, could only watch as a speculative effort from the visitor clipped the crossbar. A lucky escape for the Owlesses, and they went into the break 3-0 down and with quite the mountain to climb.

With the start of the second half came a momentous occasion for one young player. Wednesday Ladies academy graduate, Skye Webster, was called into the fray, replacing Tonner between the sticks to make her senior debut at the age of just 16. And she didn’t have to wait long before being called into action.

A well-taken corner caused uncertainty in the Wednesday defence, but Webster was on hand to sweep the ball away with composure and make sure that there wasn’t an early dent put in the Owlessess’ lead. That dent did eventually come, though, as the state of play levelled out in the second half.

Becky Hargreaves was denied as her shot was put behind for a corner, but from the resulting corner Beth Hardy able to knock it past Webster and into the Wednesday goal, shortening the deficit to two and making sure there would be no debut clean sheet for the teenager.

Wednesday, though they led, weren’t at their most clinical. A few missed chances meant they weren’t able to extend their lead, one of which saw Norsworthy - going for her brace - spot the Socrates keeper 20 yards off her line, however her effort went agonisingly wide of the post.

There was still drama to come, though. Late on in the day Socrates’ goalkeeper made the mistake of handling the ball outside the box, a mistake that would hurt the team two-fold. She saw red, and result was that an outfield player would see the game out between the sticks. Wednesday took advantage, too, with Izzy Rundle rounding things off as she slotted home when Broomhead’s effort was parried into her path.

So it’s a sixth win on the bounce for Wednesday, who are into the hat for the next round of the SHWGL Cup, and they’ll be going for number seven on Sunday when they return to league action and try to extend their time on top of the table by beating Brunsmeer Athletic.