Darlington Women are through to the third qualifying round of the Vitality Women's FA Cup after a nerve-wracking penalty shootout win over Blyth Town on Sunday afternoon.
Shaun MacKenzie's team came back from 2-1 down with a goal a few minutes from the end of normal time, and then kept their cool in the shootout to go through 5-3 on penalties -- a great achievement against a team two steps above them in the pyramid.
Here's an interview with manager Shaun MacKenzie
and Chloe Ryan, one of the goalscorer
Here's the match report from Chris Barrett:
It was FA Cup weekend again and Darlington Women were again at home to face Blyth Town Ladies who play two leagues higher than their Darlington counterparts and were favourites for the tie.
Prior to the game a minute's silence was held for treasured Darlington FC volunteer Lynne Norrie.
Darlington were instructed to press hard as seen in the previous round and they did just that with it paying immediate dividends with the ball played to Hattie Raine on the right flank who played the ball across the box and it came to Chloe Ryan who struck the ball first time and hit it hard and low for it to bounce low out of the reach of the goalkeeper to give Darlington an early lead.
This awoke Blyth and they got a foothold in the game and began to dominate the ball with good retention of the ball whereas Darlington now struggled to put the passes together.
There was an injury scare on the 14th minute when a Blyth midfielder made an unfortunate slip and looked to awkwardly twist her knee to the concern of the benches but thankfully she was able to continue. It was only a minute later when Blyth managed to break down the right with Darlington unable to slow the attack, it was then pulled back from the goal line and the onrushing Blyth player Dodds there to strike hard and true past Ellen Atkinson into the far side of the goal.
Straight away Darlington had another chance with Raine again receiving the ball on the right hand side turning the full back inside out before unleashing a fierce shot which was well pushed over by the keeper.
After 35 minutes the Darlington defence left a gap through the middle for Dodds to latch onto a through ball to leave her 1 v 1 and she managed to get in ahead of Atkinson and finishing well from an acute angle to put Blyth 2-1 up. There was another chance again for Blyth when they were able to find gaps in the defence but there was enough pressure from the covering Emma Carter to force the shot wide and to help Darlington get to half time just one behind.
Darlington needed to step up a level in the second half and on the hour managed to create a good opportunity with the ball whipped into the box by Chloe Ryan into Emma Doudican whose touch was just a little heavy giving the chance for the keeper to come out and smother at her feet.
Five minutes later it was another opportunity for Darlington with Ryan breaking through the middle and putting the ball past the keeper but it clipped off the outside of the post and away from danger.
Blyth were still dangerous putting numerous passes together well and managing to switch the ball across the field helping to retain the possession. With time running out, on 86 minutes Ryan again managed to create some space after a change in position and she struck from the centre of the box but it was saved by the keeper. The ball was rebounded out to the feet of Raine who set herself and lashed the ball across goal into the side netting to give Darlington a dramatic late equaliser.
This led to a tense few final minutes but neither team were able to create any further chances and the game finished at 2-2 and it meant the tie would be decided by the dreaded penalty shootout.
Darlington were to go first and it was Captain Toni Upton who stepped up to strike and get Darlington off to a successful start. Blyth followed and duly despatched there first penalty to level. Second up for Darlington was Chloe Ryan who also struck the ball sweet for another successful Darlington spot kick. This was again followed up with another successful spot kick for Blyth.
Third in line for Darlington was the youngster Lacey Baldwin who showed great maturity to take her time and then smash the ball home giving the keeper no chance. Again this was followed by another successful attempt from Blyth for the third kick put to Atkinson's left.
The fourth kick for Darlington was to be taken by late scoring hero Hattie Raine and again no mistake was made when she put the ball away for the second time. For the fourth kick, Atkinson held her ground and her nerve to wait a little longer and this time dive right to drop down and make a crucial save.
The fifth regulation kick was to be taken by the again fantastic Lou Brown who had another solid performance at the back and was now tasked with the pressure penalty to take Darlington into the next round. The nerves were there for all and the ground was silent as she stepped up and befitting of her usual performance, she placed the ball to the keeper's left with no chance of a save sending the team and crowd into raptures!
It was a harsh ending for a talented and well organised Blyth team who showed quality throughout but it was Darlington's day and they will now progress to the next round of the draw with it likely to be another tough test against higher level opposition.
Player of the match was awarded to Chloe Ryan (sponsored by Arthur Wharton Foundation and Quaker Distillery) who opened the scoring and lead the attack magnificently showing endeavor throughout with her relentless effort and finished with a clinical penalty.
Although not the best Darlington performance of the season they showed grit and determination and were awarded for their hard work and battling spirit which they will hope to maintain throughout the season.
The draw for the next round is due to be made on Monday.
