Coventry City Ladies seven game winning streak was brought to a halt today with a 3-1 defeat at the hands of the Leicester City Women. The Premier League North side were flattered by the scoreline which saw a Katie Lowder first half double capped off by a Hannah Smith strike deep into stoppage time. Danni Saulter's seventh goal of the season wasn't enough as the Sky Blues were dumped out of the FA Cup at the third round stage for the third straight season.
The Sky Blues started brightly and maintained an incredibly high work rate throughout the match. Coventry's first attempt on goal epitomised the side's effort as Saulter applied pressure and charged down an attempted clearance. A neat 1-2 with Helen Dermody left Saulter in possession on the edge of Leicester's area before Nicole Tinto stole in to drive a thunderous effort that cannoned off Lauren Impey for a throw in.
Dermody's throw was switched quickly to the far side of the field allowing Saulter to power into the box and unleash a stinging shot that Leanne Hall saved well with her feet. Midfield pair Jade Ogle and Emily Hanson, making her first senior start, did an excellent job of nullifying Leicester & England Under 20 playmaker Remi Allen, limiting the midfield dynamo in the early running to a weak effort from the edge of City's area.
Natalie Reay looked to be the Foxes most dangerous threat with a string of well placed crosses that the Sky Blue's backline had done well to defend. However, a weak clearance in the 24th minute fell to Lowder who was afforded too much time to place her lob just over 'keeper Adele Rogers. Heroine of the second round penalty shootout, Rogers did well to get a hand on the shot but could only push the ball onto the underside of her bar and in for what felt like an undeserved lead.
Leicester doubled their advantage just 5 minutes later as again Reay swung in a pinpoint cross from her right-wing position. Rogers came but was beaten to the ball by Lowder who stooped to head into the empty net giving City a mountain to climb. Having come from behind in both previous rounds the Sky Blues never let their heads drop and pushed hard to find a way back into the game. A weak free kick from Dermody on the half hour mark never troubled Hall's goal as the keeper gathered comfortably.
A 43rd minute free kick from a seemingly harmless position saw Captain Natasha Lynch pump a long ball deep into the corner for Saulter to chase. Faced up by left-back Lekeisha Gumbs, Saulter breezed past her marker cutting into the box and shooting under Hall with the help of a slight deflection. Saulter's third goal in the competition had Leicester on the ropes and on the stroke of half time her cross was just out of the reach of Tinto else the Sky Blues could have gone in level.
Almost straight from the restart Dermody had Hall scrambling across her goal to gather an audacious lob as City again took the game to their hosts. Leicester seemed content to absorb Coventry's pressure and search for a third goal on the break. Lynch was fortunate to avoid a booking in the 56th minute when her crunching tackle on Smith upended the pacey striker who, much to her credit, bounced straight up shrugging off the challenge.
Danni Saulter continued to terrorise Leicester's backline and, combined with Nicole Tinto's constant pressure the two harried the Foxes into numerous errors. Saulter could've hauled the Sky Blues level on the hour mark but her effort from wide on the right hand side of the box rolled across the face of goal and wide of the upright.
Two weeks ago Remi Allen was lining up for the England Under 20s as they prepared for a World Cup quarter-final against the USA in Peru, a stark contrast to a boggy pitch on a cold day in Leicestershire. The Foxes Captain had a subdued performance as she was constantly dogged and harassed whilst in possession. Allen's best chance to have a telling impact on the game was foiled by Ally Forbes. After nipping round Rogers, Allen's shot looked certain to seal the game but Forbes never gave up on it and managed to turn the ball around the post whilst sliding towards her own goal.
With 10 minutes remaining Katie Singleton was handed a debut and almost made a massive impact, heading narrowly wide with her first touch. The sixteen year old striker, who's been at the club since signing at the age of nine, showed some neat touches and blazing speed, appearing completely un-phased by the opposition's stature.
As the Sky Blues continued to push for an equaliser holes began to appear at the back and it was only a great challenge from Adele Rogers, reacting well to gather at the feet of Hannah Smith, that prevented a killer blow. At the other end Singleton utilised her pace to catch a long ball, a heavy touch took her around Hall but pushed her wide and a weak shot cleared by Zira Handley was the best she could muster from a difficult angle.
Emily Hanson was unlucky not to steal an equaliser in the dying moments of regulation time, her near post header from Kelly Henson's free kick was well blocked at close range by Hall. The Foxes did eventually grab a third deep into stoppage time. Smith, who was consistently caught offside, looked to be way off once again but this time the flag stayed down and Smith continued to play placing the ball past a helpless Rogers into the top right hand corner.
Manager Paul Cudby summed up the performance and the result, "I thought the players, as a team, were terrific today. Everyone did exactly what was asked of them and despite going 2 goals down, they stuck to the task and got their reward with the goal before half time. The second half, especially towards the end, we were the better team but just maybe lacked that little bit of luck. Overall, to have competed and played so well against a side that not only pipped us to promotion, but have continued where they left off in the Northern Premier, says a great deal for our players and they should take a lot of confidence from their performance".
Next Sunday sees Coventry play another third round tie, this time in the County Cup, as they host Stratford Town Ladies. The West Midlands Premier Division side will visit the Sky Blues for a 13:30 kick off at the Coventry University Sports Grounds on Westwood Heath Road. Round 2 saw the Sky Blues dispatch Solihull 6-0 on the road whilst Stratford defeated Rugby Town 5-2. Coventry will be heavily favoured to maintain their 100% home record.
Team: - Rodgers, Wilcox, Lowe, Ogle, Lynch (c), Forbes, Henson, Hanson, Tinto (Olin 84), Saulter (Singleton 79), Dermody (Archibald 71).
Subs Not Used: - Morgan, Whitfield.
Goals: - Saulter (43).
Bookings: - None
Sent Off: - None