ROYALS DEALT HAMMER BLOW IN FA CUP EXIT
READING FC Women were left to rue missed chances as they were knocked out of the FA Cup after extra-time by West Ham United.
The teams were locked at
0-0 after 90 minutes in a contest that saw the Royals have the better of the game.
But it was West Ham who progressed thanks to Dagny Brynjarsdottir’s 105th-minute winner.
Kelly Chambers team were looking to build on the momentum of their recent impressive league form by advancing in the cup.
After five consecutive wins in the Women’s Super League, their excellent form was brought to an end prior to the latest international break after they were thumped 4-1 at Brighton.
Deanna Cooper returned to the starting line-up, while back-up goalkeeper Rhiannon Stewart was selected to start between the sticks for the Royals.
Emma Harries and Natasha Dowie looked to link up early to create a chance when they traded passes only for West Ham’s defence to recover and shut them down.
Reading were awarded a freekick in a dangerous position when Amalie Eikeland was impeded 25 yards from goal.
Faye Bryson tried her luck and struck an effort on target that didn’t have enough conviction to trouble West Ham goalkeeper Mackenzie Arnold.
The Hammers replied with
a couple of chances of their own and were first thwarted by an important block from
Cooper and then denied by a smart save from Stewart.
The Royals came closest to breaking the deadlock in the 24th minute when Eikeland’s header bounced off the post.
The hosts counter-attacked with menace to win a corner and from the resulting set-piece, Eikeland met Harries’ delivery but was denied by the upright.
Another promising move from Reading saw Harries feed the ball into the path of Bryson who picked out Deanne Rose and she fired a volley inches over the top.
Arnold came to the Hammer’s rescue when she clawed away Cooper’s header to keep it goalless. West Ham hit back with a chance of their own when Lisa Evans nodded over the bar.
The home crowd called for Arnold to be sent off when she came out of her area and handled
the ball, but the referee gave her a caution.
The half came to a close with Reading having the final chance of the half from the resulting free-kick. Lily Woodham’s delivery caused chaos in the box and almost dropped for Harries but Arnold recovered to collect the loose ball.
Reading continued to pile the pressure on their visitors in the second-half.
Woodham’s long throw was brought under control by Harries who laid the ball off for Dowie who couldn’t manage to get her shot on target from an acute angle.
The Royals looked the more likely to get in front and continued to press for an opener when captain Natasha Harding’s looping header was caught by Arnold with an hour gone.
With just over 15 minutes left on the clock, Reading were again denied by Arnold who made a super stop to keep out Dowie she spun and shot after getting on the end of Harries’ cross.
The first home change came moments later when Rachel Rowe replaced Harries.
A second change five minutes later saw Justine Vanhaevermaet replace Rose.
With the score level at 0-0 at the end of the 90 minutes, the teams headed into 30 minutes of extratime.
Vanhaevermaet looked to unlock the defence on two occasions with through balls but Fisk recovered to make a vital challenge on Rowe.
Tia Primmer then entered the tie to take the place of Eikeland with 20 minutes to play.
Right at the end of the first-half of extra-time,
West Ham stole the lead when Brynjarsdottir latched onto a rebound and knocked the ball past Stewart.