Liverpool Feds exited the Women's FA Cup in dramatic fashion as West Bromwich Albion triumphed in a five-goal thriller at Jericho Lane.
The Feds began their cup run in November, beating Fleetwood Town 5-1 before comfortably dispatching local rivals Merseyrail Ladies last time out. Leanne Duffy's side took to the field on Sunday knowing victory over the Baggies would see them take on Women's Super League outfit Brighton in the fourth round.
It was West Brom who made the brighter start to the contest; Lizzie Bennett-Steele floating a beautifully weighted ball into the path of striker Mariam Mahmood, who coolly chipped the ball over the on-rushing Rachel Darbyshire to give the visitors the lead inside 10 minutes. Liverpool Feds restored parity after half an hour through defender Ellie Stewart, who nodded home Mollie Farley's superb corner-kick delivery.
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Beth Donoghue spurned the opportunity to give the hosts the lead shortly before the interval after breaking through on goal, however her effort was hooked off the line by Hannah George. Albion could have put themselves in front just minutes later but Shannon Stamps' strike was brilliantly turned behind by Darbyshire to keep the score level at half time.
The visitors did restore their lead on the hour mark, as Stewart diverted Ash Brown's cross into her own net. And things soon went from bad to worse for the Feds defender, who was shown a red card after 70 minutes for bringing down Mahmood, who was through on goal.
It looked like it could be game over when Mahmood quickly capitalised on Stewart's dismissal, slotting the ball home to give West Brom a two-goal cushion with just 15 minutes left to play. However, Feds subsititute Paige Cole set up a tense finish to the game after her low cross was turned into the Baggies' net by Brown.
Thought the hosts battled valiantly for an equaliser, it wasn't to be for Leanne Duffy's side, who exit the competition in the third round for the second consecutive year. Despite the disappointing result, the significant upturn in FA Cup prize money means the Feds' run in the competition has already yielded more than £16,000 for the club, which will go a long way to covering costs for next season.
"The cup run was really good for us," chairman Bill Stewart told the ECHO, "what the FA have done, bringing in the money they have, is a real game-changer for us.
"The two previous rounds we got drawn against teams that we expected to win and we did win. We had a strong chance of winning today and it’s a shame that we can’t test ourselves as a club against Brighton but it’s been as a successful cup run for us.
"It’s as far as we’ve gone in the competition and the money is huge for us. I’m just disappointed we couldn’t get more out of today because I think we’re better than what we showed today.
"We came this far last year and we were lucky to earn £1,000 from the whole competition but the FA have backed it up with money now and it’s fantastic. Through what we’ve done this season, we’re pretty much set up for next season."
2022 was a memorable year for the Feds, who earned protion to the third tier of the women's game for the first time in their history. And Bill believes that, despite Sunday's cup exit, the club is very much on an upward trajectory.
He said: "There have been a lot of achievements and with achievements comes challenges, challenges we’ve never had before and tests for the club and the staff. Its tough.
"We’re having to step up but it’s where we want to be. Its the challenges we want to have and that’s the fun of it. There’s constantly a good vibe around the Feds and we’re continuing on the upward trend. We’re going in the right direction.”
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