Heather McDonnell, Charley Clarke and Louise Naylor all scored braces to help MK Dons Ladies emphatically beat Wargrave Ladies in the Berks and Bucks FA County Cup Quarter Final.
The Dons were 11-0 victors over a Wargrave side two divisions below them, as they marched on towards trying to better last season’s runners-up medal in the local competition.
McDonnell kick-started the goalscoring in the second minute, then Alice Hughes, Leanna Doyle and Sasha Newsome each scored before the half-hour mark to see the Dons lead 4-0.
Charley Clarke then scored, despite being surrounded by Wargrave’s defence, in the 34th minute. Within five minutes of Clarke’s goal, Anna Loftus and Wright both got on the score sheet to make it 7-0.
Before the end of the first-half, Clarke grabbed her second goal, heading home Doyle’s inch-perfect cross to see the Dons lead 8-0 at the break.
The Dons did not take long to continue their scoring in the second half. McDonnell grabbed her second of the game in the 51st minute, dribbling the ball round the goalkeeper to slot it into an empty net.
In the 62nd minute, Louise Naylor beautifully curled the ball into the bottom left corner from 25-yards out before she grabbed the final goal of the game to make it 11-0, by getting the faintest of touches on Lauren Goodier’s corner.
The Dons started the game brightly, scoring their first opportunity of the game in the second minute.
Dawn Mallett skillfully created space before flicking the ball to McDonnell who, from 20-yards out, blasted the ball into the bottom left corner to give the Dons the lead.
Wargrave proceeded to defend well, clearing several Dons opportunities that came from corners, however they couldn’t hold on to just a 1-0 deficit as their goal was breached again in the 21st minute.
The Dons started with the ball in defence playing several one touch passes, including a fancy flick from Mallett, until Hughes ended up with a chance in the box. She took her opportunity, striking her shot hard and low into the bottom right corner to make it 2-0.
After grabbing a goal Hughes turned provider and lofted forward a perfectly weighted pass to Doyle. The captain then easily controlled the pass before whacking the ball into the corner of the goal to make it 3-0.
Two minutes later, set-piece specialist Wright whipped in a dangerous corner and Newsome leapt above the Wargrave defence, heading the ball into the top right corner to make it 4-0.
Clarke then made it 5-0 with a successful shot from just outside the box, despite having three players marking her.
Two minutes after scoring, the Dons added to their lead Mollie Burgess found herself with the ball in the opposition box. She held off Wargrave’s defence before she turned to find Loftus coming to help, she passed it to Loftus who struck the ball into the back of the net.
Minutes later, the Wargrave goalkeeper tried to stop a seventh goal palming a shot by McDonnell away, but Wright was there to convert the rebound.
With five minutes left of the first-half, the Dons made it 8-0, as Doyle crossed the ball from the right-wing into the box for Clarke to head home.
Despite being 8-0 up the Dons didn’t sit back happy with their lead, instead they scored within six minutes of the restart.
McDonnell ran at the goal with the ball, the goalkeeper came to meet her but the striker took the ball around her and fired it into an empty net to make it 9-0.
After the score was made 9-0, 16-year-old Holly Holt was added to the game, replacing Hughes to make her debut for the Dons.
In the 53rd minute the Wargrave goalkeeper stopped it being 10-0 with an impressive double save, as she first saved Loftus’ shot before managing to deny McDonnell’s rebound.
However she could not deny Naylor making it 10-0 in the 62nd minute. The vice-captain curled her shot from 25-yards-out into the bottom left corner and the stretching goalkeeper could do nothing about it.
One of the Dons’ other substitutes Amy Gooderham went close to making it 11-0 as she turned with the ball on the edge of the box before firing it at goal, but the post denied her.
The final goal of the game was scored minutes later, as substitute Lauren Goodier played in a corner and Naylor applied the slightest touch to the ball to turn it home to make it 11-0.
The lead was nearly extended further through the efforts of Gooderham and McDonnell, however they were unable to grab a 12th.
Speaking after the game, James Honeyman said: “We controlled the game and we scored when we needed to score.
“The best thing for us today is we never went off task. What we can take out of today is that we never dropped our standards – we kept pressing, we kept our high quality, we kept taking it forward and it was all positive.”
He added: “To their credit, Wargrave gave it everything, with two minutes to go they were still throwing their bodies in front [of the ball] to stop us scoring.”
After their emphatic success, he Dons return to league action this weekend when they face third-place Ipswich Town at Willen Road.
Starting XI: Shults, Doyle, Mallett (Gooderham 63), Clarke, Loftus, Naylor, Newsome, Burgess, Hughes (Holt 52), Wright (Goodier 70), McDonnell.
Goals: McDonnell (2, 51), Hughes (21), Doyle (27), Newsome (29), Clarke (34, 40), Loftus (36), Wright (38), Naylor (62, 78)
