Torquay United are in the draw for Monday’s First Round Proper of the Adobe Women’s F.A. Cup but were made to fight for their place in the hat, by a battling and well-organised Royal Wootton Bassett Town Ladies side.
United named the same starting eleven that had put 12 past AFC St. Austell a week earlier, and despite gradually growing in confidence and dominating first half possession, couldn’t find the killer ball to unlock the Bassett defence.
The visitors, beaten at the same stage by United two seasons ago, to their credit, were defensively sound, frustrating their hosts, and save for the marauding Ellie Bishop on the left, had an answer to all of Torquay’s first half tactics.
When they did get forward, their biggest threats were down either flank, and the best entertainment of the half were the tussles between Hannah Gulliver and United’s Lucy Palmer on the Bassett left and Tash Bevan battling to keep top scorer Maddy Elliot in check on the right.
In fairness, there were barely any goal-bound chances in the first half to trouble either Jasmine Read in the United goal or her counterpart, Millie Powell. And though Powell was the busier of the two, Torquay’s efforts either lacked power or were directed straight at the visiting stopper!
But, as it looked like Bassett’s first session rearguard had been successful, United broke the deadlock from a set piece in added time. Sam Burnham dealt a powerful corner from the left, and Lucy Solloway ghosted in unmarked to drive the ball home from 10 yards.
If it marginally changed both team talks at the break, the goal certainly forced a tactical change for both sides at the interval, providing for a more open second 45. Torquay had seen Adele Brown limp off five minutes before the break, and the half time introduction of Kate McKane meant another tactical switch, but ultimately it was McKane who was involved in both second half goals.
Royal Wootton Bassett Town made changes too, and Holly Baker and Kathryn Bach provided United with food for thought down the left side. And although the visitors had more possession, Torquay gradually looked more and more dangerous. Powell had made a couple of decent saves, one at the feet of Solloway, before United doubled their advantage.
The goal came mid-way through the second half, again from a set piece, and again with Sam Burnham as the architect. United again had players running from deep, and though Powell saved the first effort, the power of McKane’s follow-up saw the ball squirm out of the keeper’s grasp and over the line.
By now United had gone with a defensive-heavy line up to ensure their progress in the contest but still had offensive power with Chloe Williams playing a more central and threatening role. And it was Williams who bagged Torquay’s third with ten minutes left. United pressed a defence error and McKane’s control and first-time cross saw keeper and defender collide, allowing Williams to pick her spot for 3-0.
It would prove a necessary cushion for the hosts though, as almost from the restart Bassett clawed one back, a looping ball in from the right met on the half-volley by Bach, driving the ball back across Read and into the bottom corner.
Just for a moment, United could have wobbled, but Burnham, substitute Alex Sheppard and the faultless Kaitlyn Harris at the heart of the Torquay defence ensured no further mishaps.
United will find out their first round opponents on Monday afternoon, when the National League teams enter the hat, so a likely even tougher test awaits in three week’s time!
Torquay United: 24. Jasmine Read, 2. Lucy Palmer, 5. Sam Burnham, 14. Kaitlynn Harris, 12. Natascha Bevan, 6. Adele Brown (11. Chloe Williams), 7. Tracie Cross, 16. Lexie Watts (4. Alex Sheppard), 3. Emily Elliott (15. Kate McKane), 9. Lucy Solloway, 10. Ellie Bishop (13. Rachel Heron) Substitutes Not Used: 1. Emma Ayres, 19. Millie Scully
Player Of The Match: Kaitlyn Harris
You can hear the post-match thoughts of skipper, Tracey Cross, and Player Of The Match, Kaitlyn Harris, on our YouTube Page Here.