Ladies bow out of the FA Cup on Pens

Colne Ladies’ Women’s FA Cup journey came to a heartbreaking end in Woolton, as a dramatic afternoon of football was eventually decided from the penalty spot.

The Reds could hardly have wished for a better start, stunning the hosts after just two minutes when Sellars found the back of the net to give Colne an early advantage.

Woolton, however, responded strongly. Two goals inside the space of just five minutes completely changed the complexion of the tie, turning Colne’s early lead into a 2-1 deficit and giving the home side the advantage.

The hosts then struck again on 55 minutes to make it 3-1, leaving Colne with a mountain to climb and their FA Cup hopes hanging by a thread.

But the Reds weren’t finished.

Rather than allowing the game to drift away, Colne began to take control and apply increasing pressure as they searched for a route back into the contest.

With 20 minutes remaining, Taylor provided exactly that, pulling one back to make it 3-2 and setting up a tense finish.

Colne continued to push forward, throwing everything at Woolton as the clock ticked towards 90 minutes.

Then, with just two minutes remaining, came the moment they had been searching for.

Harding grabbed her first goal for the Reds at the perfect time, completing a superb comeback from 3-1 down and levelling the tie at 3-3.

After six goals and a dramatic fightback, the contest would be decided from the penalty spot.

Unfortunately, there was to be no fairytale ending for Colne. Woolton held their nerve in the shootout, winning 4-1 on penalties to book their place in the next round.

It was a cruel way for the Reds to exit the competition, but the result shouldn’t take away from the character shown to battle back from two goals down and take the tie all the way to penalties.

A spirited performance, a dramatic comeback and plenty to be proud of despite the result.

Good luck to Woolton in the next round of the Women’s FA Cup.