Helen Dermody bagged a double hat-trick as the Coventry City Ladies romped to a 15-1 County Cup quarter-final victory over the Coundon Court Ladies. Dermody's 6 goal haul takes her to 14 for the season & gives her an impressive 9 in City's last 3 games. Emily Hanson's 4 goal haul was overshadowed by the left sided midfielder's impressive performance which also saw her play an important part in 4 other Sky Blues' goals.
From the games early exchanges it looked like City might not have it all their own way against their plucky hosts who sit 3 divisions below the Sky Blues. A boggy pitch made for awkward playing conditions as both teams struggled to get into any sort of rhythm. In the 7th minute Kelly Henson picked up the ball in the middle of the park & quickly spread it wide to Hanson, who, having a choice of three to aim for, picked out Dermody whose first touch looked a little heavy but still managed to slide the ball into the net narrowly beating Coundon keeper Kelly Denny.
Coundon struck back just 4 minutes later rocking their visitors as Sam Hendry nipped in to take advantage of Coventry's failure to deal with a free kick. The scores remained level until the 16th minute when Hanson notched her first. An excellent cross-field pass from Dermody, who was back defending in her own half, picked out the run of Nicole Tinto who squared the ball for an easy tap-in to regain the lead.
Captain Natasha Lynch should've made it 3-1 when Coventry were awarded the first of 3 penalties but struck the ball narrowly over the crossbar. Dermody eventually found Coventry's third in the 28th minute after winning possession from Denny's goal kick & driving the ball home from a difficult angle. Another well placed pass from Henson led to Dermody's first hat-trick as she sprung the offside trap & ran free to score past the over-worked Denny.
Hanson's second was almost a carbon copy of Dermody's as she won possession of a goal kick & unleashed a rocket into the far corner of the goal to make it 5-1 with just 34 minutes on the clock. Dermody turned provider in the 39th minute laying on a cross that provided Tinto a simple tap in for her sixth goal in her last seven matches. One minute later Lynch made amends for her penalty miss with a driving run; bursting through the middle of Coundon's creaking backline & firing in an unstoppable effort for a 7-1 half-time advantage.
Dermody wasted little time in the second half, scoring almost from the off, her initial effort was well saved by Denny but the keeper couldn't hold it allowing Dermody to follow up & make no mistake with her second attempt. Full back Nat Wilcox provided great attacking support along the right flank all afternoon and her efforts were rewarded when she stepped up to fire home a spot kick that she'd won after being scythed down from behind in Coundon's box.
It was Jade Formaston's turn to take a penalty when in the 62nd minute after two Coundon defenders dived in to bring down Dermody. Formaston, who scored 21 goals for the Sky Blues last season, didn't enjoy her best day in front of goal but put her struggles behind her to coolly slot home Coventry's tenth. Hanson completed her Hat-trick in the 70th minute, placing calmly into the back of the net after emerging from a scrap on the edge of Coundon's area with possession of the ball.
With 15 minutes still to go Dermody took her tally to five. Again Denny made an initial save but couldn't do enough to stop the follow up. Hanson notched City's thirteenth with a simple tap in at the back post from a Dermody cross. Jade Ogle laid on City's fourteenth after breaking from a defensive wall on the edge of her own box. The combative midfielder carried the ball into Coundon's half before releasing second half substitute Katie Singleton who cleaned up from her own rebound after another Denny save.
It seemed only fitting that Dermody should have the final word & she duly obliged in stoppage time, Hanson left two defenders in her wake with a deft turn on the edge of the box before picking out Dermody for a tap in. The semi final draw will be made this week but for now the Sky Blues turn their attention back to the league. This coming weekend sees the visit of a Loughborough side who easily turned over the Sky Blues 3-1 in what has been their only league win of the season thus far. The game is a 13:30 kick off on Sunday 25th at Coventry University's Westwood Heath Sports Grounds.
Team: - Rodgers, Wilcox (N. Miles 63), Forbes, Henson, Lynch (c) (Bryenton 73), Cockayne, Formaston, Ogle, Tinto (Singleton 63), Hanson, Dermody.
Subs Not Used: - Morgan, H. Miles.
Goals: - Dermody (7, 28, 31, 46, 75, 90+1) Hanson (16, 34, 70, 83) Tinto (39) Lynch (40) Wilcox (pen 54) Formaston (pen 62) Singleton (87).
Bookings: - Formaston
Sent Off: - None
