Coventry City Ladies 0-2 Wolverhampton Wanderers WFC
FA Cup 3rd Round
3rd December 2006
Christine Wheeler reports
A record crowd for the 3rd Round of the Womens FA Cup at the Ricoh Arena saw Coventry City Ladies defeated 2-0 by Premier League Northern Division's Wolverhampton Wanderers.
The home supporters in the 1,057 crowd didn't get the start they wanted though, as Louise Roberts put the visitors ahead after just 98 seconds with a low shot into the right hand corner, with Coventry goalie Williamson appearing to be troubled by the low sun. Roberts almost doubled her tally when she hit the post on 23 minutes.
Coventry were not to be brushed aside though. The team had watched a DVD of Liverpool's Champions League Final victory earlier in the day as a reminder that you should never give up. One minute after Wolves hit the post, Mel Byrne, scorer of all four of Coventry's FA Cup goals this campaign, saw her powerful header finger-tipped round the post by Becky Hall.
Roberts should have been celebrating her hat-trick just before the half hour, but was guilty of missing an open goal after getting past the Coventry defence and taking the ball round the keeper.
The Sky Blues' best chances in the second half fell to striker Wade. The 18 year-old used her pace to run at the defence, but lacked the final killer touch.
Hannah Smith made it 2-0 on 66 minutes after getting away from Coventry defender and captain Natasha Lynch to slot the ball past Williamson.
Despite the loss, Sky Blues Ladies chairman David Singleton was upbeat, “It's been a great day for ladies football, and for the Ricoh stadium it's been a massive occasion as well. I think it was a great game of football”. Manager Stuart Wilson also saw positives,
“There was great effort and commitment. Just a shame about the result”. Assistant manager Neil Wilson, a lifelong Coventry City supporter, thought it had been brilliant day, adding “I don't think I'll ever get the chance to do that again. It was great to be part of such a big occasion”.
Coventry City team: Kerry Williamson, Natalie Wilcox, Jenny Lowe, Maria Cartwright, Natasha Lynch, Alison Forbes, Kirsty Robson (Kelly Henson, 73), Emma Lipman (Helen Dermody, 84), Melissa Byrne, Sinead Wade, Kelly-Ann Willis (Natalie Brace, 73) Subs not used: Leanne Griffin, Sarah Marshall