Women's Match Report: Chatham Town 3 Exeter City 3 (5-3 pens)

A resilient Exeter City Women scraped through to the next round of the WNL Cup as they beat Chatham Town 5-3 on penalties.

City went 1-0 down early on after a mistake at the back which left Chatham with an empty net to aim at. Beth McGowan then grabbed the equaliser with her first goal for the club, before a fine finish at the end of the first half meant the hosts led at the break. However, two quick goals from Ishbel Zuurmond and Ellie Sara put the Grecians in front. City dominated, but a late penalty for Chatham sent them game to a shootout. City who were more composed from the spot though, scoring all five of their penalties to progress.

Team News

Abbie Britton makes four changes from Wednesdays Devon Derby victory. Ffion Llewellyn, Phoebe Baker, Beth McGowan and Georgia Vaccaro come into the starting line-up. Jess Sandland, Nia Lewis, Amber Pollock and Charlotte Whitmore drop to the bench. Whitmore's one match ban will be served next week in the league.

First Half

It was a scrappy start to the first half, the ball bouncing around and not really sticking with either side. The first half-chance for City came in the fourth minute; a lovely ball over the top by Ffion Llewellyn found Zuurmond who had made a darting run down the line. Her cross however was caught by the Keeper.

Five minutes later though, the hosts took the lead. A loose pass from Erin Foley on the right side of the penalty area fell straight to a Chatham player, who finished with ease into an empty net. 

Not content with being one goal behind, City went straight on the attack. The closest effort of the game up until this point came from Georgia Vaccaro, as the City forward took aim from around 25-yards out, and it rattled the inside of the post, rebounding out. 

City had another opportunity moments later, a cross from the left by Tia Asker was spilled by the Chatham keeper. Ellie Sara was in the right area but the keeper was able to smother the ball. 

The pressure eventually paid off, as City finally found a breakthrough just before the half-hour mark. Asker’s effort from distance was palmed away, but Beth McGowan was there on hand to tap the ball home and score her first goal for the club. 

The Grecians couldn't remain level heading into the break though, as five minutes before the interval Chatham retook the lead. The home side picked up the ball just outside the our the City penalty area, and a fine curling finish the Chatham forward put them in front. 

Two chances came and went for both sides at the end of the first half. An intricate bit of play from City set Zuurmond free, but her effort was caught by the Chatham keeper. At the other end of the pitch, Chatham had two corners in quick succession. The first flew narrowly past Foley’s far post and was tapped out for another corner, which was headed away by Papaioannou. 

Second Half 

The second half was always going to be a big half for City, being down by a goal and needing to score twice to win the game, but they came flying out of the traps and did exactly that.

Zuurmond was the first to score, as a lovely cross from Poole was tapped home by City’s number 10. The second goal came a few minutes later from who other than Ellie Sara, with City’s number 9 netting her ninth of the season. A low ball into the box found Sara, she turned her marker and she finished into the top corner. 

There was a real sense of confidence in City’s play since taking the lead. Zuurmond was again at the centre of things, a jinking run through the Chatham defence, she found Whitmore out wide but she was unable to find anyone with her cross. Georgia Vaccaro then went close, her initial effort was blocked, Whitmore had the second attempt but her shot was deflected narrowly wide. 

Nia Lewis then went close, her shot went under the keeper but a Chatham defender was there to clear it off the line. 

It was end to end in the final minutes of the game, City looking to get that vital fourth to give themselves breathing room, while Chatham were looking to take it to penalties. But it was the hosts that were able to get the goal. 

Chatham went on a counter attack from City, and a forward was brought down in the penalty area by Llewellyn, resulting in the referee pointing to the penalty spot. The penalty was put away and Chatham took the game to a shootout. 

Both City and Chatham netted their first two penalties, with Llewellyn and Papaioannou scoring for the Grecians. Chatham’s third penalty hit the crossbar giving the advantage to City. Vaccaro tucked away the fourth to give City an advantage of two. Chatham scored their next penalty, but it wasn’t enough as Charlotte Whitmore scored to win the shootout and send City through to the next round. 

A third win this week for the Grecians in a third different competition, Abbie Britton's side have continued their positive momentum with a fourth victory in a row.

Up Next 

City will be back in league action next weekend as they make the trip to Swindon Town, before returning home the following weekend, taking on Portsmouth in the Women’s FA Cup.