It was a fantastic day for Oxford United Women, who beat Plymouth Argyle 2-1 on Sunday to progress to the fourth round of the Adobe Women’s FA Cup, coming from behind with two late goals to win in dramatic fashion at the MGroup Stadium.
Trailing to a first-half penalty, converted by former Oxford player Ellie Noble, and given a boost with the sending off of Olivia Francis seven minutes after the break, Oxford rallied, with substitute Ruby Sealey equalising three minutes from the scheduled end of the game. Then, in the final minute of added time, Emma Thompson scored United’s second to send the Yellows into Monday night's fourth-round draw.
The game started fairly evenly, with two closely matched sides going toe to toe. However, after just 13 minutes, an Oxford mistake gave Argyle the chance to race into the box, where a foul was committed on Tiana Teisar and a penalty conceded. Noble sent Beth Wookey the wrong way to give the visitors the lead.
United’s response to this setback was a positive one and they made a number of threatening inroads into Argyle territory, but without troubling Hermione Cull in the Plymouth goal, and the visitors made it through to half-time still holding their lead.
However, the momentum swung Oxford’s way in the 57th minute, when Francis caught Wookey as she fielded the ball, the referee showing a straight red to send Plymouth down to ten players and give the U’s a huge advantage.
Oxford were immediately on the front foot as Argyle changed shape to accommodate their reduced numbers. However, their switch to a back five gave United’s fullbacks plenty of space to attack, with manager Liam Gilbert putting the rapid duo of Maisy Barker and Nicole Barrett into those positions to exploit the additional room.
Oxford did get the ball into the Argyle net just after the hour mark, but play was pulled back for Thompson’s high boot in the build up. And with United now dominating possession, it was a question of whether Plymouth could hold out for the rest of the match.
With under ten minutes remaining, Holly Manders’ powerful drive smashed back off the Plymouth bar with Cull beaten. Three minutes later, a Naomi Bedeau header also came back off the bar, and with time running out, it looked like it wasn’t going to be Oxford’s day.
That was until the 87th minute, when a Barrett cross from the right wing was met by Sealey, whose downward header bounced into the net to spark wild celebrations.
All the momentum was with United, who were throwing everything at Plymouth, occasionally leaving themselves dangerously short at the back.
If the celebrations for Sealey’s equaliser were wild, they were nothing compared to the scenes in the 94th minute, when Barker’s cross was headed on by a defender allowing Thompson to spin in the area and flick the ball past Cull to prevent extra time and send Oxford through.
After the game, Gilbert (who has now won his first four games back as Oxford manager) said: “The way that the game ended is a testament to the character and perseverance of the group. We had to be patient because Plymouth did a really good job of making it hard for us to break them down.
“I said to the group at the end that it’s been a really great four weeks and I’m really happy. It’s nice to see more progression in the accountability within the group – the ownership of their actions and what they’re doing – and they should embrace it. After all, it’s the magic of the FA Cup.”
The draw for the fourth round will take place at 7:00pm on Monday 15 December on the Adobe Women's FA Cup Youtube channel, along with Channel 4 and TNT's Youtube channels. Oxford United will be ball number 29.
UNITED: Wookey, Gibson (Sealey 69), Provan(Trinder 80), Wiseman, Casley, Barrett, Thompson, Jenkins (Bedeau 80), Palmer, Barker, Manders
Attendance: 248