FA Women’s National League Cup First Round
Hull City Ladies 1 (Tugby-Andrews 49’)
Leeds United Women 2 (White 8’, Hughes 77’)
Hull: Wattam (GK), Hamill, Tanser (C), Ackroyd, Hunt, Tugby-Andrew, Haywood (Wilson 46’), Foyer, Nicholson, Gatt, Cockerill (Akrill 46’). Subs not used: Wallace (GK).
Leeds: Simpson (GK), Millard, Legge (C), Elliott, Darcie Greene, Hughes, Watson (Smith 67’), White (Graham 79’), Drew Greene (Williams 61’), Dixon (Gibrill-Keating 89'), Woodruff. Subs not used: Oates (GK), Ellis, Cassidy.
Venue: The Versa Sportswear Stadium, North Ferriby
Referee: Abigail Greenwood
Bookings: Woodruff (Leeds) Nicholson (Hull)
Leeds United Women progress to the FA Women's National League Cup Second Round with a 2-1 victory away at Hull City Ladies, with Ellie White scoring early on and Alice Hughes heading home with ten minutes to go.
Simon Wood made two changes to the lineup from last week’s 1-0 win away at Huddersfield, with White and Izzy Elliott being named in the Starting XI, in place of Emily Cassidy and Kath Smith.
The Whites got off to the perfect start, capitalising on the end-to-end nature of the opening stages, as Carrie Simpson picked up a loose ball as our hosts cleared a corner, and floated a pass onto the head of Amy Woodruff.
Last week’s match-winner did brilliantly to flick in-behind to White, who ran one-on-one before lofting the ball over Georgia Wattam and into the back of the net to put Leeds ahead.
The Whites continued pushing for a second after the opener, forcing Hull into a handful of mistakes as they were pressed, including a shaky clearance to the feet of White, but her first-time strike was straight at the backpedalling 'keeper.
Chloe Dixon had a dig from 30 yards out after half-an-hour, firing powerfully at goal and forcing a save from Wattam, before Woodruff looked to double the lead as she challenged a pass to the ‘keeper, but the danger was dealt with.
The press kept causing issues for the Tigresses, as five minutes before the interval, White chased a loose ball and succeeded in finding Woodruff, who cut inside from left and fired towards goal, but only found the wrong side of the near post.
White almost doubled the lead before half time, as she connected with Darcie Greene’s cross from the left, but a Hull defender did well to clear off the line, before Drew Greene then made contact on a cross, however, a similar story followed as the ball narrowly cleared the post.
HALF TIME: Hull City Ladies 0-1 Leeds United Women
Hull started the second half strongly, almost scoring immediately as Rachael Ackroyd ran in-behind and fired over the bar, but it was Jessica Tugby-Andrew who did find the equaliser, as she connected with a freekick and found the back of the net.
The second half was in stark contrast to the first, as both sides were unable to really trouble inside the areas, and looked to their respective benches for a spark, with Leeds adding Kath Smith and Paige Williams to the mix.
With fifteen minutes to play, Chloe Dixon picked up on a loose ball and rounded the ‘keeper before squaring towards Woodruff, but a defender slid in to put out of play.
But to the hosts’ disappointment, from the following corner Alice Hughes climbed highest and powered a header into the back of the net, to give the Whites a 2-1 lead as the clock ticked to 80 minutes!
Leeds did brilliantly to prevent any more chances for the hosts and as Abigail Greenwood whistled to signal full time, the Whites confirmed progression to the Second Round after Hughes’ winner!
The Whites are back in action next Sunday, this time in Adobe Women’s FA Cup action, as they welcome FC St. Helens to Garforth, kick off 2pm.
FULL TIME: Hull City Ladies 1-2 Leeds United Women
