But then Newbury signalled their attacking intent, after good work by Nicole Beesley in the left channel, she sent her strike partner Lily Chubb away, who won her side their first corner. Ellie Reed swung the cross in, which was met by a good downward header by Newbury’s Gemma Povey. Her goal-bound effort was cleared off the line by a defender, but only as far as Beesley, who sent another header towards the Shanklin goal, forcing the keeper into a good one handed save.

The deadlock was broken on 20 minutes, when Ellie Reed found herself in acres of space on the left. She travelled with the ball, beating four Shanklin defenders, as she tore into the penalty area, before unleashing a low shot past the goalkeeper to give the home side a deserved one nil lead.

Newbury had further chances to extend their lead in the first half, with openings for Reed and Beesley. Neither chance was converted, but the best scoring opportunity for Newbury came in the 35th minute, after great work by Beesley again down the left. She beat two Shanklin defenders to get to the by-line and cut into the penalty box. Her cross flashed across the 6 yard area, but with no incoming team mate, the chance went begging.

Just 5 minutes later and Shanklin found themselves level after an attack down the right, which Newbury were unable to completely deal with. The loose ball broke to the Shanklin striker and her overhead kick sailed over Hunt’s head and crashed into the roof of the net for 1-1. There was just time for the re-start in the last couple of minutes of the first half, but then came an incident that was to impact the rest of the game. When the ball was flagged out for a throw in on the Newbury left, the Shanklin winger reacted angrily and was spoken to by the Referee. Before the throw could be taken, the same visiting player was dismissed and shown a straight red card for using foul and abusive language to the referee. And as half time came, the visiting side found themselves reduced to 10 players, with the score-line even at one goal apiece.

When the second half got underway, it was the team from the Isle of Wight that came out with a sense of renewed purpose and they upped the tempo straight away. As Newbury’s defence came under pressure, there was hesitancy in the back line, with the ball again not properly cleared. That hesitation was punished, as a Shanklin player burst through the centre to score her side’s second goal and the visitors went into the lead for the first time in the tie.

With the score at 2-1 and Shanklin down to 10 players, Newbury were still in the game, but it was to be a real battle, with their opponents raising their game dramatically from their first half showing. Newbury captain, Leanne Creese won her side a corner on the hour mark, which she then took from the right. Her cross was met by an un-marked Caroline Harkness, but her header drifted a yard wide of the far post.

As Newbury went in search of an equaliser, they were always likely to be vulnerable to a Shanklin counter attack. But goalkeeper Hunt pulled off a fine save, when the visitor’s number 9 was played through one on one. This kept her side in the tie and Newbury were fortunate from the resulting corner kick, as the woodwork came to their rescue, before the danger was cleared.

With the clock running down, Beesley was withdrawn for Newbury, with Lauren Sheldon brought on as her replacement, with just ten minutes remaining for her to try to make an impact. But it was frustration for Newbury, as their defence was breached in the 84th minute and Shanklin converted again to take a 3-1 lead, effectively killing off any remaining chance their hosts had.

Leanne Saunders replaced Sam McConnon at full back for Newbury on 86 minutes. As the tie drew to a close, Shanklin scored a fourth goal in injury time to give them a convincing 4-1 win and a safe passage into the Third Round. All is not completely lost for Newbury Ladies however, as they will now enter the Chairman’s Cup competition, along with the other beaten clubs from Rounds 1 & 2.