Oxford United Women put four goals without reply past a lively Chelsea Academy side to ease into the second round of the WNL Cup on Sunday afternoon. Emma Thompson scored her second hat-trick in a week, and Riva Casley also got her name on the scoresheet to put United into the draw for the next round.
Oxford started on the front foot, but Chelsea’s pace and quick passing meant they were always a threat on the counter. Indeed, in the 10th minute they had the ball in the back of the Oxford net from a free kick floated into the box but were denied by the offside flag.
This served as a warning for the U’s, who started to dominate the game. However, it wasn’t until just after the half-hour mark that Oxford took the lead as Thompson ghosted in at the back post to tap home Nicole Barrett’s right-wing cross.
The second half was ten minutes old when Thompson grabbed her second goal of the afternoon. This time it was all about her reactions as Barrett slid a neat ball forward to Thompson, Chelsea keeper Isla Ball parried the shot and Thompson scored from the rebound.
It was 3-0 in the 67th minute from a set piece. Holly Manders sent over a free kick from the left and Casley met the ball on the volley to sidefoot home and put the game beyond Chelsea’s reach.
The scoring was completed with quarter of an hour remaining and it was the same combination as for the opening goal. A Barrett cross from the right was met by Thompson who completed her hat-trick in style.
Despite being well beaten, Chelsea put Oxford under some pressure for the first time during the last ten minutes. Goalkeeper Maddison Millington-Stanley replaced Beth Wookey for her United debut in the 88th minute, making a fine save with her first touch of the ball to deny a close-range Chelsea attempt.
After the game, manager Sam Rose said: “We wanted to back up the performance and result from last week’s game, and we did that, and we want to put a cup run together, so I was pleased to keep a clean sheet and pleased we’re going through.”
The women are in cup action again next weekend, when they travel to Hashtag United in the Women’s FA Cup. That’s followed by two huge league games, with United travelling to second-placed AFC Bournemouth on Wednesday 29 November before hosting top-of-the-table Watford on Sunday 2 November.
UNITED: Wookey (Millington-Stanley 87), Gibson, Wiseman (Turner 70), Bedeau, Casley (Provan 77), Barrett (Jenkins 77), Legg, Thompson, Sealey (Trinder 77), Palmer, Manders
