Reggae Girl double advances Charlton into Women’s FA Cup
Afirst-half brace from Jamaica international Melissa Johnson enabled Charlton Athletic Women to reach the fifth round of Women’s FA Cup in style with a 4-1 win against Ipswich yesterday.
Charlton dominated the possession in the early exchanges in the fourth-round match at Portman Road, but Sophie Peskett gave the hosts an early lead before the Addicks, as Charlton are known, answered emphatically.
Johnson struck twice in five minutes, and Freya Godfrey followed up with a stoppage-time strike to give Charlton a 3-1 lead at half-time before Elisha N’Dow inflicted further punishment with a second-half goal.
The result meant that the English Women’s Championship’s Charlton are unbeaten in their last eight matches in all competitions including their 6-0 win against Bournemouth last month to progress in this competition.
Peskett gave Ipswich the lead after eight minutes when Charlton goalkeeper Jessica Gray gifted her the ball with a weak clearance, and the winger drove past N’Dow before calmly slotting the ball home.
Gray made a crucial stop in the 18th minute to deny Ipswich from doubling their lead after Lenna Gunning-Williams unleashed a powerful shot destined for the net from a tight angle.
Charlton soon began to pressurise the Town backline, which cracked in the 36th minute when Maisy Barker headed the ball backwards across the Ipswich box towards her goalkeeper Laura Hartley, and Johnson pounced and fired into the net from close range.
The Reggae Girlz striker got her second when a corner kick from Carla Humphrey pinged around in the air, and she leapt and expertly headed the ball past Hartley in the 41st minute.
Angela Addison earned the Addicks a penalty when Barker brought her down in the box, and former Town loanee Godfrey stepped up to the spot and calmly stroked the ball down the middle of the goal in the second minute of first-half stoppage time.
Charlton coach Karen Hills made several changes soon after the half-time break, injecting fresh energy into the contest, and the visitors were content to keep possession for large swathes of play, making the Blues chase the ball and limiting them to a few counterattacks.
The Addicks ended any hope of a Town comeback in the 74th minute when substitute Ella Rutherford, returning from a knee injury, curled a free kick into the box. N’Dow rose above everyone and headed the ball into the net.