MK Dons Women achieved a come-from-behind victory over Cambridge United to progress into the Second Round of the Women’s FA Cup competition.
Charlie Bill’s Women prepared to kick-off their 2023/24 FA Cup campaign with a trip to St Neots Football Club to face Cambridge United, who compete one division below that of MK Dons.
Both teams sought to continue their FA Cup voyage, but the knockout tournament could only see one victor enter the second stage of the contest, whereas a disheartening defeat would result in an early exit from the competition.
FIRST-HALF
The opening stages of the game saw a cagey affair from both sides, who were determined not to suffer a setback early, which would ultimately put their FA Cup hopes at risk.
However, the Dons Women saw that fate unravel as Cambridge had broken the deadlock 17 minutes into the tie. 1-0
Although down, the travelling team were not yet out, and they continued to fight for the equaliser throughout the remainder of the first half. The closest chance saw Gemma Biggadike strike the bar with a long-range effort before five minutes later MK Dons were awarded with a penalty-kick.
This potentially pivotal moment within the fixture took place moments before the interval – Alas, the spot-kick was matched well by the U’s goalkeeper, who had savoured their one-goal lead until half-time.
SECOND-HALF
The fight continued for Charlie Bill’s Women, who had 45 minutes remaining to rectify their first-half setback. A resilient display from the team was on show following the restart, and it was eventually rewarded when the score-line had drawn level once again.
With 66 minutes on the stopwatch, Nicola Puddick had found the equaliser that MK Dons Women had been fighting for. Rhianne Rush rolled the ball into the path of Puddick, who struck her effort from outside of the box brilliantly as it located the back of the net from a tight angle. 1-1
The tails were up for the visitors, who wanted to use their momentum to secure a second and take the advantage for the first time within the clash.
Puddick, involved amongst the action again, created what would be a crucial and game-changing moment within the First Round FA Cup tie.
84 minutes into the match, the run of the number three created enough space for a delivery into a dangerous area. An area where Lucy Wood was positioned perfectly to slot home the second Dons goal of the game. 1-2
An incredible display in resilience and determination allowed Charlie Bill’s Women to not only come-from-behind to overturn a one-goal deficit, but also secure victory at St Neots Town Football Club over Cambridge United.
Manager Charlie Bill shared his thoughts on the action-packed First Round tie “We never expected to come here and win a game of football easily, we always knew it was going to be a tough challenge.
“When we got back into the game, we started to enjoy the ball and from that we equalised. But in the end, our second goal really showed the quality of the players in this team.
“The resilience, the togetherness, all the values we’ve shown is what we were asking for at half time - At the end of the day, that’s what got us through this game of football.”
As a result of their First Round success, MK Dons Women have been drawn away to Worcester City in the second stage of the FA Women’s Cup contest.
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MK Dons Women: Sansom (C), Warren, Puddick (Addison 69), Biggadike, Stovold, Mitchell, Rush, Wood, Creaney, O’Brien (Attenborough 45), Dolling (McLean 89)
Subs: Beaver, Samuels, Wilson
Goals: Puddick 66, Wood 84
Images captured by CTFPhotography
