WCWFC 7 - 1 Bewdley - Worcestershire County Cup
Worcester City Women’s First and Development Team have made it to the 23/24 WFA County Cup Final after beating their respective Semi-Final opponents, Bewdley Town and Malvern Town to ensure an all Worcester City final at Claines Lane on 28th April.
City’s First Team ran out 7-1 winners at Sixways against Bewdley Town, with Holly Rogers netting a first half hat trick. City started positively, winning an early corner and testing the ‘Keeper. City got their first goal on 12 minutes when midfielder Kerstin Ballard played the ball out to right-back, Shona Baldwin, who played a perfect pass to Captain Jess Fassnidge at the top of the 18-yard box. Fassnidge coolly struck the ball to the ‘Keepers right, starting the goal scoring spree for City.
Ten minutes later, City got their second, when Leah Ritson brought in Fassnidge who shot again, but this time the ‘Keeper made a good save and it was Rogers who was first to the rebound and cleverly slotted home with her left foot.
The third goal came in the 42nd minute after Ritson’s cross was met by Baldwin who superbly crossed into Rogers, who buried the header into the top corner. Rogers got her hat trick minutes later when she converted a beautiful low cross from Laura Davies, meaning City could go into half-time with a comfortable 4-0 lead.
Bewdley started the second half strongly and pulled a goal back. A fantastic shot was tipped onto the bar from City ‘Keeper Sofia Stolt but City couldn’t keep out the rebound.
City got their first goal of the second half and 5th of the game in the 55th minute, after a brilliant break down the right saw Baldwin through on goal. The full-back collected her third assist of the game, when she squared it to Fassnidge inside the 6-yard box for a tap-in.
Olivia Mitcham got on the score sheet in the 75th minute when she expertly brought down a lofted through ball from Annie Sime with her chest and slotted home with a right foot volley, making it 6-1 to the home side.
Sime nearly turned goalscorer minutes later after her strike hit the post but it was her midfield partner, Davies, who got the 7th when she calmly picked the ball up in midfield and placed the ball into the back of the net with a low, left foot shot.
City are back in action next Sunday at Sixways in the league when they take on Shrewsbury Town Women. We hope to see you there! Thanks for the fantastic support as always!
Malvern Town 0 - 4 WCWFC
Going into today’s fixture, it was the first time in the development team history that they had made the semi-finals of the Worcestershire County Cup. Their opponents for the day were Malvern Town, a team currently flying in Tier 7 of the women’s pyramid, having only lost 1 game this season and pushing for promotion into Tier 6 in which the Development team currently compete.
City started the game strong, controlling the tempo and playing with confidence, which reflected in the amount of possession city had in the opening 5 minutes. They pushed for an early opener and were rewarded on 6 minutes when the defence worked the ball through to Conway, who found Smith with a lovely through ball out wide. Lauren cut inside and drove into the box where her initial shot was saved by the keeper only to be followed up by a looping header over the keeper which found the back of the net. 1-0 to City.
City continued to enforce their dominance on the game, but the defence of Malvern held well and so did their keeper, pulling off numerous saves. The second came in the 25th minute, and it was the captain Conway who stepped up this time after some lovely combination play with Smith who sets her in the box to sweep home into the bottom corner. The 3rd came shortly after on 30 minutes, and it was Smith again, a shot from the edge of the area which lobbed the keeper. City went into half-time 3-0 up.
The second half started and Malvern came out with a point to prove, although Worcester continued to dominate in areas of the pitch, Malvern were much harder to breakdown in the second half. With chances for both teams, the game remained 3-0 until the 71st minute when Badland picked the ball up inside the box and was brought down after an excellent turn, penalty given! Up stepped Finley, who slotted it bottom right. 4-0.Â
The game ended 4-0 and further history was created, both Worcester City teams had made the final. Great performances all over the pitch from start to finish and they reaped their reward.Â
Thank you to Malvern, who were fantastic hosts, and we wish you all the best with the remainder of your season.