It wasn't just the wind from Storm Darragh that was giving me chills this Sunday. I was in Woking to see Woking Women take on Winchester City Flyers in the Southern Region League Cup and, as a lifelong West Brom supporter, the name Woking is enough to give me chills. I was there, at The Hawthorns, on that fateful day in 1991 when Tim Buzaglo scored an 11-minute hat-trick to consign The Baggies to a humiliating home defeat. A University of Bath study has since declared it to be the least likely Third Round result of the last 50 years, with just a 1:16,000,000 chance of it coming off. Supporting West Brom was never easy, but that day was as disappointing as they come. Ah well, it was 33 years ago, time to let it go. Speaking of which, I spent most of this game completely frozen as the icy winds blew across the open spaces of Woking College.
The game matched up Woking, who started the day 7th in Division One South, with Winchester City Flyers, occupying the same position in the Premier League. On paper, Flyers would definitely be favourites. Having said that, Flyers had only won once on the road all season, a 3-0 FA Cup win at Bitton.
The game matched up Woking, who started the day 7th in Division One South, with Winchester City Flyers, occupying the same position in the Premier League. On paper, Flyers would definitely be favourites. Having said that, Flyers had only won once on the road all season, a 3-0 FA Cup win at Bitton.
Flyers attacking On a bitterly cold and grey afternoon where only a handful of games survived the weather, it was Winchester who started the brighter of the two. In fact, you could say they got off to a flyer. They took the lead in the fourth minute when Kayleigh Tonks forced Amy Jenkins into a save only for Laura da Silva to pounce on the loose ball and put the visitors in front. 0-1
Winchester continued to look the more threatening of the two, Emma Whitlock struck a long-range effort that Jenkins was well behind after 11 minutes, but the goalkeeper was helpless to prevent the visitors second after 17 minutes. Libby Wilkinson with a delightful left-foot curler into the top corner. 0-2
Winchester goalkeeper, Ellie Parker, had seen little action in the opening 25 minutes, but she showed that she was fully alert when she blocked a point-blank Trudy Bryan-Kerr shot in the 28th minute. An excellent save at a crucial point. Woking had seen few sights of goal, but if they had pulled one back at this juncture, it could have given them more impetus.
A few minutes later Kayleigh Tonks was the recipient of a fortunate through ball that saw her burst clear of the home defence. However, she put her shot straight at Jenkins, and the chance was gone. Jenkins was on hand again a minute later, saving well to deny Tonks again.
Beth Anders, on to replace Helen Brown, tested Parker again from long-range, but once again the visiting goalkeeper was on her guard, diving to her right to make a good save.
Winchester had the last chance of the half, when Annie Northwood found herself on the receiving end of a lovely Amy Smith cross but, inside the 6-yard box, she couldn't adjust her stance to get a clean strike, sending the ball wide of the mark.
HT Woking 0 Winchester City Flyers 2. A solid performance from Winchester, who could be further in front. Ellie Parker made one excellent stop and one routing diving save. Apart from that, Woking have been restricted to long-range efforts that have been off target. Great to get to speak to Winchester Flyers Women's chairman, Tony Panteli, at half-time. He was pleased so far, but wared against complacency and said the start to the second half would be crucial. Thanks also for your very kind comments about the work of BotP, Tony. Very much appreciated.
Winchester continued to look the more threatening of the two, Emma Whitlock struck a long-range effort that Jenkins was well behind after 11 minutes, but the goalkeeper was helpless to prevent the visitors second after 17 minutes. Libby Wilkinson with a delightful left-foot curler into the top corner. 0-2
Winchester goalkeeper, Ellie Parker, had seen little action in the opening 25 minutes, but she showed that she was fully alert when she blocked a point-blank Trudy Bryan-Kerr shot in the 28th minute. An excellent save at a crucial point. Woking had seen few sights of goal, but if they had pulled one back at this juncture, it could have given them more impetus.
A few minutes later Kayleigh Tonks was the recipient of a fortunate through ball that saw her burst clear of the home defence. However, she put her shot straight at Jenkins, and the chance was gone. Jenkins was on hand again a minute later, saving well to deny Tonks again.
Beth Anders, on to replace Helen Brown, tested Parker again from long-range, but once again the visiting goalkeeper was on her guard, diving to her right to make a good save.
Winchester had the last chance of the half, when Annie Northwood found herself on the receiving end of a lovely Amy Smith cross but, inside the 6-yard box, she couldn't adjust her stance to get a clean strike, sending the ball wide of the mark.
HT Woking 0 Winchester City Flyers 2. A solid performance from Winchester, who could be further in front. Ellie Parker made one excellent stop and one routing diving save. Apart from that, Woking have been restricted to long-range efforts that have been off target. Great to get to speak to Winchester Flyers Women's chairman, Tony Panteli, at half-time. He was pleased so far, but wared against complacency and said the start to the second half would be crucial. Thanks also for your very kind comments about the work of BotP, Tony. Very much appreciated.
Woking pressured Flyers in the 2nd half After having the final chance of the first period, Northwood looked lively at the start of the second. Once again home stopper Jenkins did well to claim her cross-shot. That said, Woking were clearly fired up for the second half and were having far more of the ball than they managed in the first, without unduly concerning Ellie Parker.
Just before the hour mark, Winchester made some changes, including taking off my PotM up to that point, Lydia Moulding, who, in my opinion, had barely put a foot wrong in the Flyers defensive line. Maybe the changes caused a temporary blip in concentration for the visitors, because two minutes later, Woking had a goal back. The ball fell to Jasmina Vanvooren on the edge of the box and she struck a lovely looping effort that left Perker grasping at air as the ball dipped into the top corner. 1-2 and, just possibly, game on. Maybe Tony's half-time warning was coming to fruition?
Flyers had looked a little lacklustre in the second half which had given Woking some hope. Eliza Eaton tried to spark some life into the visitors in the 71st minute when she latched onto a lose ball after a good challenge by da Silva. The winger drove forward, unleashing a low drive that wasn't too far wide of the post. Five minutes later and the Winchester lead was looking a little shaky as Woking came very close to an equaliser. Beth Anders did really well to turn sharply inside the Flyers penalty area, before having Parker scrambling across her goal as the ball ran just wide of her right-hand post. Two minutes later Sophie Penhaligon tried her luck from distance, again wide of the right-hand post, but too had Parker worried for a while. At this point you wouldn't have bet against Woking getting an equaliser but, with 8 minutes remaining, Winchester got their two-goal lead back. It was a strange goal, but they all count. A Libby Wilkinson corner from the right caused a bit of chaos in the box. Laura da Silva got a toe to it before it was hacked away. However, the referee was already pointing back to the centre-circle, indicating that the ball had crossed the line. 1-3. It was going to be very difficult for Woking to get two more goals back inside the final few minutes and that task became impossible in the 88th minute when Eliza Eaton drove he ball across Jenkins into the net to make it 1-4.
FT Woking 1 Winchester City Flyers 4. The final score makes it look like a straight-forward victory for the Premier League side. However, Woking made them work hard in the second half. When The Cards pulled a goal back, they had a couple of chances to level it up, which may have made for a very different game. However, two goals late on sealed it for Winchester who, overall, were the better side and deserved to progress. They will now face either Penn or Wycombe in an all-Premier League 1/4 final.
If you want to catch either of these sides in action, they are both scheduled to play next Sunday, ahead of the Christmas break. Woking are back at Woking College where they welcome league newbies Burseldon. They drew 2-2 at Toynbee School back in October in a game that saw Bryony Gibbs give The Cards a 2-1 lead in the 92nd minute only for Kirby Anderson to level it up with pretty much the last kick. Winchester welcome Woodley United to town in the reverse of a game they lost narrowly, 2-1, back in September. Only an added time Sarah Lawrence strike separated the teams.
Woking: 1.Jenkins, 22.Marr, 5.Cotter(c), 17.Warren, 3.Gibbs, 8.Christie, 23.Penhaligon, 14.Bryan-Kerr, 6.Mitchell, 7.Vanvooren, 19.Brown. Subs: 10.Curr, 18.Kelly, 12.Anders, 20.Roch
Winchester City Flyers: 1.Parker, 2.Capel-Watson, 3.Chalk, 5.Moulding, 8,Whitlock, 9.Rooney(c), 10.Tonks, 11.Wilkinson, 12.Northwood, 15.McDonough, 16.Da Silva. Subs: White, 4.Powell-Rowland, 14.Burt, 17.Smith, 18.Eato
Just before the hour mark, Winchester made some changes, including taking off my PotM up to that point, Lydia Moulding, who, in my opinion, had barely put a foot wrong in the Flyers defensive line. Maybe the changes caused a temporary blip in concentration for the visitors, because two minutes later, Woking had a goal back. The ball fell to Jasmina Vanvooren on the edge of the box and she struck a lovely looping effort that left Perker grasping at air as the ball dipped into the top corner. 1-2 and, just possibly, game on. Maybe Tony's half-time warning was coming to fruition?
Flyers had looked a little lacklustre in the second half which had given Woking some hope. Eliza Eaton tried to spark some life into the visitors in the 71st minute when she latched onto a lose ball after a good challenge by da Silva. The winger drove forward, unleashing a low drive that wasn't too far wide of the post. Five minutes later and the Winchester lead was looking a little shaky as Woking came very close to an equaliser. Beth Anders did really well to turn sharply inside the Flyers penalty area, before having Parker scrambling across her goal as the ball ran just wide of her right-hand post. Two minutes later Sophie Penhaligon tried her luck from distance, again wide of the right-hand post, but too had Parker worried for a while. At this point you wouldn't have bet against Woking getting an equaliser but, with 8 minutes remaining, Winchester got their two-goal lead back. It was a strange goal, but they all count. A Libby Wilkinson corner from the right caused a bit of chaos in the box. Laura da Silva got a toe to it before it was hacked away. However, the referee was already pointing back to the centre-circle, indicating that the ball had crossed the line. 1-3. It was going to be very difficult for Woking to get two more goals back inside the final few minutes and that task became impossible in the 88th minute when Eliza Eaton drove he ball across Jenkins into the net to make it 1-4.
FT Woking 1 Winchester City Flyers 4. The final score makes it look like a straight-forward victory for the Premier League side. However, Woking made them work hard in the second half. When The Cards pulled a goal back, they had a couple of chances to level it up, which may have made for a very different game. However, two goals late on sealed it for Winchester who, overall, were the better side and deserved to progress. They will now face either Penn or Wycombe in an all-Premier League 1/4 final.
If you want to catch either of these sides in action, they are both scheduled to play next Sunday, ahead of the Christmas break. Woking are back at Woking College where they welcome league newbies Burseldon. They drew 2-2 at Toynbee School back in October in a game that saw Bryony Gibbs give The Cards a 2-1 lead in the 92nd minute only for Kirby Anderson to level it up with pretty much the last kick. Winchester welcome Woodley United to town in the reverse of a game they lost narrowly, 2-1, back in September. Only an added time Sarah Lawrence strike separated the teams.
Woking: 1.Jenkins, 22.Marr, 5.Cotter(c), 17.Warren, 3.Gibbs, 8.Christie, 23.Penhaligon, 14.Bryan-Kerr, 6.Mitchell, 7.Vanvooren, 19.Brown. Subs: 10.Curr, 18.Kelly, 12.Anders, 20.Roch
Winchester City Flyers: 1.Parker, 2.Capel-Watson, 3.Chalk, 5.Moulding, 8,Whitlock, 9.Rooney(c), 10.Tonks, 11.Wilkinson, 12.Northwood, 15.McDonough, 16.Da Silva. Subs: White, 4.Powell-Rowland, 14.Burt, 17.Smith, 18.Eato
Woking Collge
The Ground
Woking College, home of The Cardinals Community Football Centre, is situated a little way South of the town centre, not a million miles from Woking FC's stadium. There is ample parking inside the college grounds, all within a very short walk of the artificial pitch that Woking Women call home. There's a relatively new looking building between the car park and the potch, which houses the chaning rooms and toilets. Supporters are only allowed into one side of the caged playing area, opposite the dugouts. There is no spectator cover, although you could shelter next to the main building and still get a good view of the game, should you wish.
Ground Number: 427
Att:
Entrance: N/A
Programme: N/A
Woking College, home of The Cardinals Community Football Centre, is situated a little way South of the town centre, not a million miles from Woking FC's stadium. There is ample parking inside the college grounds, all within a very short walk of the artificial pitch that Woking Women call home. There's a relatively new looking building between the car park and the potch, which houses the chaning rooms and toilets. Supporters are only allowed into one side of the caged playing area, opposite the dugouts. There is no spectator cover, although you could shelter next to the main building and still get a good view of the game, should you wish.
Ground Number: 427
Att:
Entrance: N/A
Programme: N/A
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