Town made club history by reaching the quarter-finals of the Women's FA Cup for the first time after a dramatic penalty shootout victory over Southampton in front of a record crowd at the Goldstar Ground.
There was little to separate the two sides as the game finished goalless after 90 minutes but the drama soon arrived in extra-time as Anna Grey fired the Tractor Girls ahead with a tremendous volley. Saints goalkeeper Kayla Rendell then netted a superb header with the final kick of the afternoon to take the game to spot-kicks, with Town goalkeeper Sarah Quantrill's heroics seeing the Blues to a momentous 4-2 victory on penalties.
Southampton started the game the brighter and put Town under early pressure with their high-press. Lucia Kendall and Ella Pusey both had chances to open the scoring but the pair squandered both chances, with Quantrill more than equal to the latter's shot. Town soon began to grow into the game and carved out a good opportunity through Maddie Biggs but after spinning in the area and squaring the ball, no blue shirts were able to meet her delivery. Kendall would have a late chance to give Southampton the lead heading into the break but her shot was never going to trouble Quantrill.
It continued to be a cagey affair after the break as both sides failed to break each other down for a large portion of the half. Town thought they had taken the lead twenty minutes from time as Eloise King fired past Rendell after turning in the area but the flag went up for offside. Both sides continued to duel for the remainder of regulation but neither side were able to make a breakthrough as the game headed into extra-time.
Southampton shaded the first-half of extra-time, with Ella Morris the closest to breaking the deadlock with a hooked effort from the edge of the area. However, it was the Tractor Girls who finally broke the stalemate and sent the Goldstar Ground into raptures as Grey rocketed a sensational volley through the fingertips of Rendell after great work from Bonnie Horwood and Eva Hubbard. As the clock counted down towards the final seconds of the match, Southampton won a corner after Olivia Smith headed Ciara Watling's cross out behind. Kendall delivered into the area and unbelievably, Rendell towered high to guide her header into the net with seconds remaining.
With penalties on the horizon, Joe Sheehan quickly made a double change and brought on teenage forwards Issy Bryant and Lucy O'Brien ahead of the inevitable shootout. O'Brien was first to step up for the Blues, having not kicked a ball all game, and buried her spot-kick into the corner to put Town ahead. First up for the Saints was Kendall but Quantrill guessed the right way and palmed away the ball to give the Tractor Girls the advantage. Bryant then stepped up and dispatched a superb penalty past Rendell. Parnell got Southampton on the board with the Saints' next penalty, with Zoe Barratt following up by netting for Town. Leeta Rutherford made it two in a row for the visitors before the Blues' regular taker, Paige Peake, unsurprisingly put her penalty away.
Then it all came down to New Zealand international Katie Rood as the Town fans behind the goal did everything they could to pile on the pressure. Rood stepped up and attempted to slot the ball into the bottom corner but Quantrill got down well to her left and clawed the ball away, sending her teammates, the Town staff and the record crowd inside the Goldstar Ground into absolute pandemonium.
The Tractor Girls will learn their first ever Women's FA Cup Quarter-Final opponents at 9:15 tomorrow morning live on BBC One.
Town: Quantrill, Hughes (Bryant), Peake, Smith, Egan (Grey), Lafayette, Horwood (c), Robertson (O'Brien), Barratt, Biggs (King), Thomas (Hubbard).
Unused: L. Jackson, A. Jackson
Att: 1,167
Match Sponsor & Player of the Match Sponsor: John Fowler's Solicitors
Southampton started the game the brighter and put Town under early pressure with their high-press. Lucia Kendall and Ella Pusey both had chances to open the scoring but the pair squandered both chances, with Quantrill more than equal to the latter's shot. Town soon began to grow into the game and carved out a good opportunity through Maddie Biggs but after spinning in the area and squaring the ball, no blue shirts were able to meet her delivery. Kendall would have a late chance to give Southampton the lead heading into the break but her shot was never going to trouble Quantrill.
It continued to be a cagey affair after the break as both sides failed to break each other down for a large portion of the half. Town thought they had taken the lead twenty minutes from time as Eloise King fired past Rendell after turning in the area but the flag went up for offside. Both sides continued to duel for the remainder of regulation but neither side were able to make a breakthrough as the game headed into extra-time.
Southampton shaded the first-half of extra-time, with Ella Morris the closest to breaking the deadlock with a hooked effort from the edge of the area. However, it was the Tractor Girls who finally broke the stalemate and sent the Goldstar Ground into raptures as Grey rocketed a sensational volley through the fingertips of Rendell after great work from Bonnie Horwood and Eva Hubbard. As the clock counted down towards the final seconds of the match, Southampton won a corner after Olivia Smith headed Ciara Watling's cross out behind. Kendall delivered into the area and unbelievably, Rendell towered high to guide her header into the net with seconds remaining.
With penalties on the horizon, Joe Sheehan quickly made a double change and brought on teenage forwards Issy Bryant and Lucy O'Brien ahead of the inevitable shootout. O'Brien was first to step up for the Blues, having not kicked a ball all game, and buried her spot-kick into the corner to put Town ahead. First up for the Saints was Kendall but Quantrill guessed the right way and palmed away the ball to give the Tractor Girls the advantage. Bryant then stepped up and dispatched a superb penalty past Rendell. Parnell got Southampton on the board with the Saints' next penalty, with Zoe Barratt following up by netting for Town. Leeta Rutherford made it two in a row for the visitors before the Blues' regular taker, Paige Peake, unsurprisingly put her penalty away.
Then it all came down to New Zealand international Katie Rood as the Town fans behind the goal did everything they could to pile on the pressure. Rood stepped up and attempted to slot the ball into the bottom corner but Quantrill got down well to her left and clawed the ball away, sending her teammates, the Town staff and the record crowd inside the Goldstar Ground into absolute pandemonium.
The Tractor Girls will learn their first ever Women's FA Cup Quarter-Final opponents at 9:15 tomorrow morning live on BBC One.
Town: Quantrill, Hughes (Bryant), Peake, Smith, Egan (Grey), Lafayette, Horwood (c), Robertson (O'Brien), Barratt, Biggs (King), Thomas (Hubbard).
Unused: L. Jackson, A. Jackson
Att: 1,167
Match Sponsor & Player of the Match Sponsor: John Fowler's Solicitors
