Rugby Borough 2-3 Sheffield United
An Izzy Goodwin hat-trick and a trio of Bex Rayner assists fire the Blades into the next round of the FA Cup
United made it through to the 4th round of the Adobe Women’s FA Cup with a 3-2 win at Rugby Borough, although they needed extra time to avoid the ignominy of being the only Championship side to fail to progress to the next stage.
It was a deserved victory in the end – thanks to a hat-trick from Izzy Goodwin – with the Blades hitting the woodwork a couple of times, getting one penalty but being denied a handful of others and also seeing the Rugby keeper, Erin Foley, put in a strong performance. However, the game was in the balance for long enough that it could easily have swung the other way had Rugby taken a couple of chances in the second half.
United were more of a consistent threat and victory will likely be tinged with frustration at the manner in which they gifted the hosts a couple of goals, in a throwback to a few bad habits from the early part of this season. Eleanor Heeps had a mixed time in the Blades goal although she was also left exposed on the counter far more often than she might have expected against third-tier opposition, for whom Angelina Nixon caught the eye with a number of driving runs.
The Blades picked a strong team and started brightly enough. Bex Rayner dazzled on the ball throughout and had an early shot wide, before United committed the first of a handful of major errors during the game and were duly punished for it.
A high ball forward didn’t look hugely threatening, but right centre-back Rachel Brown made a poor header across her backline and into the path of a pair of Rugby players – the first of whom teed up Nixon for a neat finish past Heeps.
United responded well with Ella Kinzett again pushing the tempo of play with her tireless running through the centre, and it was the Blades’ No.18 who came closest to an immediate reply with a dipping 25-yarder that Foley saved brilliantly.
Goodwin did pull United level not long after, following some lovely build-up play. Charlotte Newsham drove into space down the left and found Goodwin with her back to goal. The Blades striker touched it off to Rayner inside the box, got the return pass, and hit a bouncing effort just inside the near post to make it 1-1.
United should have been ahead at the break when Ash Hodson was denied well by Foley, but started the second half in sloppy fashion. First, the home side cut through far too easily and Heeps had to make a superb save from a one-on-one.
Then, an awful goal from a United point of view. The Blades took a short goalkick, with Heeps playing it out to Newsham. Under no pressure, Newsham dribbled straight into an oncoming Rugby forward, with the ball rebounding to Lily Greenslade. The Rugby striker’s shot was tame and straight at Heeps, but it somehow went right through her hands and into the net to make it 2-1.
To United’s credit, heads didn’t drop despite falling behind for a second time – and in such a self-inflicted manner, at that. Heeps, however, almost reprised the error minutes later although this time the ball stopped short of the goalline as Rugby players started to celebrate.
In fairness to Heeps she has done a decent job filling in for United’s top two goalkeepers, Fran Stenson and Bethan Davies, since joining on a short-term loan from Spurs. Nonetheless it was good to see Stenson - who’s having an outstanding season - back on the bench for this one, and hopefully back to full fitness in time for this weekend’s game.
Sophie Haywood came on for Hodson and helped the Blades press Rugby back. She went on one mazy run into the box before getting brought down from behind for what looked a pretty clear penalty but the referee disagreed.
Jodie Hutton had a 25-yarder well-saved before Jess Sigsworth did manage to beat Foley – but also the far post as the ball rolled just wide from a good position. By now United were swarming forward and looking like only poor finishing would deny them a deserved equaliser, but with time running out Rugby broke and sent one inches past the far post with Heeps beaten.
Rayner and Goodwin made the hosts pay as the clock wound towards injury time, linking up once again on the edge of the box. Rayner showed fantastic skill and vision to clip a perfectly-weighted pass in behind the defence and Goodwin did the rest.
How United didn’t then win the game in 90 minutes is something of a mystery. Kinzett played a fabulous through-ball to send Sigsworth racing in on goal but United’s No.7 – who is somehow still on a solitary goal this season despite getting into some brilliant positions – lofted her shot just wide.
The Blades then won a corner, which Hutton swirled over to the far post into the wind and saw the ball smack the upright before being cleared. That was the last action of regular time, but it didn’t take long for United to get the next goal once the extra 30 minutes kicked off.
Haywood played a good pass into Rayner’s path and she crashed her shot against the near post – but got on the rebound and was immediately kicked from behind for a penalty. Goodwin earned herself the match ball, sending the keeper the wrong way and notching her 10th goal of the season in the process – Rayner having assisted all three goals.
Molly Graham replaced Hutton soon after as the Blades looked to shore things up, and Tamara Wilcock came on for Goodwin with United’s top-scorer picking up an injury. It was an awkward fall for Goodwin who tangled with a defender as she went to the ground, and she was down for several minute before hobbling off. Here’s hoping for her sake, as well as United’s, that it’s just a knock after 113 minutes of hard running.
An entertaining cup tie came to a close with Rugby deserving plenty of credit for such an open game, although United could certainly have made this Sunday afternoon a lot less dramatic with some better execution in both boxes.
For the fourth straight season, United’s 4th round opponents are from the WSL – with Tottenham Hotspur (A) coming out of the hat for the next stage. Spurs are currently middle of the pack in the top flight but as we’ve already seen from United’s Conti Cup humbling against Aston Villa this season, even the supposed also-rans of the WSL represent a significant challenge. That tie is scheduled for Sunday 14th January.
Charlton Athletic (H) – Sunday December 17th, 14:00 kick-off
Talking of significant challenges… it’s the Championship’s league leaders, Charlton, up next. The surging Addicks are surprise table-toppers at this stage, and United were a touch unfortunate not to beat them in the opening fixture this season.
Since then, though, Charlton have been flying – particularly away from home where they’ve picked up 16 points from seven games in which, remarkably, they haven’t conceded a single time.
Unsurprisingly, then, they have some of the best defensive numbers in the Championship, with an xG Against of just 1.21 per game (via footystats) – good for joint-third in the league. They’ve been decent going the other way, too, although their xG of 1.38 is a notch behind United’s own.
The experienced Kayleigh Green is one to watch for the visitors, with the 35-year-old Welsh international leading the scoring charts for Charlton this season after over a century of WSL appearances for Brighton.
United will be sweating on the fitness of Izzy Goodwin after the knock picked up in the FA Cup, and hopefully the seven-day gap between fixtures will be enough recovery time for her and any tired legs from having to go to extra time last weekend (Charlton had a comparatively stress-free FA Cup tie, winning 6-0 at Bournemouth).
If anyone’s going to breach that apparently impenetrable Charlton defence, the smart money is on Goodwin being the one.
Hey Ben,
Just wanted to say thanks for putting these together, I started following your substack after you mentioned it on your pod. It's great to see some quality content on the Women's team.