SOLIHULL Moors Women were denied a dream clash with Women’s Super League side Aston Villa after they were beaten 5-2 by AFC Fylde in the third round of the Women’s FA Cup.
Moors historic FA Cup run came to an end after Fylde scored four goals in the space of 12 frantic first-half minutes as the FA Women’s National League Northern Premier Division side showed their class to blitz Tom Blaymires’ side.
Despite both Lyndsey Ross-Baker and Shannon McFadden finding the net at the start of the second period, Fylde responded immediately to settle the tie which was played on Solihull’s Davisons Law Arena 3G pitch.
Fylde play one division above Moors in the Women’s National League Northern Premier Division whilst Moors play in the Division One Midlands league.
And the two teams were evenly matched in the opening 10 minutes as Moors ventured forward in search of the opening goal with Eva Rogers the closest to finding a way through.
However, Fylde soon began to impose themselves on the tie and dominated from the 10th minute onwards with Solihull unable to find a foothold in the game.
And Fylde’s dominance eventually paid off on 28 minutes when Faye McCoy brought down a cross before some nice footwork allowed her to evade a couple of challenges in the box and went down under pressure with a spot kick awarded.
McCoy picked herself up to slam home the resulting penalty as Fylde made their superiority count.
Just three minutes later, Fylde scored their second goal with McCoy again on the scoresheet as the striker received a pass before she rifled a venomous shot into the top corner to double Fylde’s lead and leave Moors stunned.
McCoy completed a sensational eight-minute hat-trick on 36 minutes with another long range effort from a direct free-kick that flew over the head of Moors goalkeeper Harley Savage, who was left with no chance, as the ball hit the roof of the net.
And with Moors desperate to hear the half-time whistle for a chance to regroup ahead of the second period, Fylde put the game to bed on 40 minutes when Jenna Carroll nodded home from Laura Merrin’s corner.
Moors had work to do at the break to keep their FA Cup dreams alive and Blaymires’ half-time team talk appeared to have the desired effect as Solihull made a blistering start to the second period.
The home side pulled a goal back just two minutes into the second half when Ellie Bruton’s corner picked out Zoe Creaney, who was unmarked in the box, who saw her initial header heroically blocked on the line as Ross-Baker slammed home the loose ball from close range.
And moments later, Moors further reduced the deficit when a ball from the right was met by McFadden who was bursting into the penalty area at pace and produced a superb half-volley towards the corner that proved too strong for the Fylde goalkeeper.
However, any hopes of an extraordinary comeback were dashed virtually straight from the restart when Fylde’s Amy Hughes latched onto the end of Caz Fields’ pass to score the away side’s fifth goal of the afternoon.
Moors searched for a way back into the game but Fylde controlled the remaining minutes well to book their place in the next round at Solihull’s expense.
