Catch up on all the action of the Women's FA Cup Fifth Round

The FA Cup fifth round took place on Sunday and it didn’t disappoint, well apart from there weren’t any shocks. Plenty of goals scored of which some were spectacular, there were two penalty shoot-outs, two players scored four goals, a side reached the quarter-finals for the first time in their history and the record winners of the cup exited it for this season. The winners in this round received £20,000 in prize money whilst those that lost got £5,000. Here is my round up of what happened in the eight ties.

Lewes v Cardiff City

I was at The Dripping Pan to watch Women’s Championship side Lewes take on Cardiff City. Cardiff were the only FA Women’s National League and amateur side remaining in the cup. The tier 4 side had already won five matches to reach this stage, beating Downend Flyers 10-0, Bridgwater United 4-0, Keynsham Town 6-0, Bournemouth Sports 5-0 and Burnley 4-1.

Lewes had beaten London Bees 5-0 in the third round then narrowly overcame Ipswich Town 1-0 to reach this stage.Cardiff brought a large travelling contingent with them, lots wearing the clubs bobble hats and scarfs, and they made a fair bit of noise throughout the match. The Lewes supporters had a drum and there was a good atmosphere inside ground.

Lewes opened the scoring in the 5th minute when the ball rebounded to Ellie Mason who smashed it into the net.The home side had opportunities to extend their lead but a header from a free kick went just wide four minutes later, and Paula Howells sent a long range dipping effort over the crossbar in the 26th minute.

Photo: Lewes FC

Mason did make it 2-0 to Lewes in the 28th minute when after being played through she finished low past Cardiff goalkeeper Laura O’Sullivan.

Rebecca McKenna sent a shot into the side netting, and minutes later Emma Thompson hit the woodwork as Lewes looked to score a third. O’Sullivan made a good save with her legs to deny Lewes in the 41st minute then Mason shot over from inside the area.

Cardiff scored in first half stoppage time to halve the deficit, and what a spectacular goal it was! Ingrid Aadland sent an effort towards goal from around 35 yards out which dipped over Lewes goalkeeper Sophie Whitehouse and into the net.

Mason continued to have chances for Lewes with her seeing a shot go just wide then having a goal ruled out for offside in the opening 15 minutes of the second half.

Kirsty Barton then saw a couple of efforts go wide for the home side.Lewes did go 3-1 ahead in the 61st minute when Mason completed her hat-trick with a low shot into the corner of the goal.Cardiff did have a chance to get a goal back in the 67thminute but Whitehouse made a good save to deny them.Mason saw an effort go wide in the 74th minute, then two minutes later she scored her and Lewes’ fourth when she controlled the ball then volleyed it in.

McKenna, who I thought had a really good game down the right side for Lewes, set up Thompson but her shot was saved in the 84th minute. It was then announced that Mason was Player of the Match and that the attendance was 857.Lewes scored their final two goals late in the game with Kenzie Weir and Aqsa Mushtaq getting them. There was still time for the home side to hit the woodwork again before the final whistle was blown. The 6-1 win sees Lewes reach the quarter-finals for the first time in their history.

Round-up of the rest of the fifth round

Holders Chelsea took on 14-times winners Arsenal in an all Women’s Super League (WSL) tie at Kingsmeadow. Arsenal had chances before Chelsea took the lead in the 21stminute when Sophie Ingle scored. Ann-Katrin Berger made a few good saves for the Blues during the first half. Sam Kerr, on her 100th appearance for Chelsea, scored their second goal in the 56th minute. Chelsea’s 2-0 win means they have now beaten Arsenal in the FA Cup in the last three seasons. The sides meet again in the Conti Cup final on Sunday.

There were two other all WSL ties and both went to penalties. West Ham United and Aston Villa couldn’t be separated after 120 minutes at the Chigwell Construction Stadium with the score level at 1-1. Rachel Daly gave the away side the lead in the 50th minute before Dagny Brynjarsdottir equalised for the Hammers in second half stoppage time. There were no goals during extra time so it went to a penalty shoot-out. Both goalkeepers took penalties with Hannah Hampton scoring for Villa then Mackenzie Arnold missed for West Ham which meant the Villans won after spot kicks 7-6 and made it through to the quarter-finals.

At Brisbane Road, Tottenham Hotspur played Reading. Both sides had chances but it finished 0-0 after 120 minutes had been played. Reading won the shoot-out 5-4 with Lauren Wade scoring the decisive spot kick to send them through. The Royals have won both their FA Cup ties on penalties this season after defeating Leicester in a shoot-out in the fourth round.Both Manchester clubs had convincing wins against Championship opposition. Manchester United played Durham at home and won 5-0. The first goal didn’t come until the 42nd minute when Vilde Boe Risa scored direct from a free kick. Leah Galton, Hannah Blundell, Alessia Russo and Nikita Parris scored during the second half for United.

Manchester City beat Bristol City 8-1 away from home. Khadija Shaw scored four of the goals with the others coming from Ingrid Angeldahl (a cracking effort into the top corner), Julie Blakstad (2) and Jemima Dahou, who scored her first senior goal for the club. Gracie Pearse scored the Robins consolation goal. A great attendance of 1,223 watched this one at the Robins High Performance Centre.

Brighton & Hove Albion beat Coventry United 5-0 at the Broadfield Stadium in another WSL vs Championship tie. Brianna Visalli and Lee Geum-Min scored two each for the Seagulls and the other was an own goal from Fran Orthodoxou as the South coast side comfortably made it through.After causing a shock by beating WSL side Everton in the previous round, Birmingham City were drawn away to fellow Championship side Charlton Athletic in the fifth round. The only goal came in extra-time with Birmingham’s Ashley Hodson scoring it to send the Blues through to the last eight.

Fifth Round results

West Ham United 1 v 1 Aston Villa (Aston Villa won 7-6 on penalties)

Manchester United 5 v 0 Durham

Charlton Athletic 0 v 1 Birmingham City (after extra time)

Lewes 6 v 1 Cardiff City

Tottenham Hotspur 0 v 0 Reading (Reading won 5-4 on penalties)

Chelsea 2 v 0 Arsenal

Brighton & Hove Albion 5 v 0 Coventry United

Bristol City 1 v 8 Manchester City

Quarter-finals draw

The draw for the quarter-finals has been made and these ties are due to be played on the weekend of 18th/19th March (check FA website/clubs social media for kick-off times and locations).

Reading v Chelsea

Aston Villa v Manchester City

Lewes v Manchester United

Birmingham City v Brighton & Hove Albion