Despite Tower Hill winning the toss and electing to kick off the match, it was Newbury who quickly took control and launched the first attack through Nicole Beesley. She crossed from the left, with the Tower keeper just doing enough to prevent Ruby Oliver and Rachel Panting from connecting and getting an effort on goal.

Newbury then had some defending to do, with two early corners being won by Tower Hill. But it was the home side who took the lead, after a break involving Oliver and Beesley. Newbury then gained two quick corners of their own, scoring from the second, which was cleared out only as far as Sam McConnon on the Newbury right. She played a neat pass forward to Leanne Creese, who had got back herself back on side after taking the corner and she shot from 25 yards. The ball looped over the goalkeeper and into the top right corner. One nil to Newbury inside the opening ten minutes.

Newbury had the chance to extend their lead just two minutes later, after good work by Ellie Reed and Panting, both pressing the Tower back line. Panting fed a defence splitting through ball to Beesley, who went clear of the last defender and was through one on one with the Tower keeper. As she bore down on goal from the left, she shot with her left foot and then watched as her effort beat the goalkeeper, but the ball bent agonisingly wide of the right hand post, only inches away.

With that let off, Tower Hill were stirred into action and they looked to put the Newbury defence under pressure. The home side prevented any real scoring opportunity however and whenever Newbury themselves broke forward, they looked dangerous. Creese shot over the bar midway through the half, when she was unmarked on the wing. Then two shots were blocked in quick succession inside the Tower penalty area. The first came from Panting and the follow-up effort from Beesley saw her thwarted again.

The resulting corner saw Oliver have a header cleared from just under the bar and it was now the home side that were clearly on top as half time approached. Yet the lead remained at just the single goal and when the Referee blew for half time, Newbury knew that their visitors were still in the Cup tie.

Newbury made a substitution at the start of the second period, with Chloe Hunt being brought on in goal. It was Reed who was withdrawn from the action and Laura Ainscough who was moved into a striking role. All of the attacking in the first period after the re-start came from Newbury, with Panting, Oliver and Beesley all linking up well. They were unable to capitalise however and engineer a second goal. So it was that they were to rue their chances not taken, as Tower equalised with only their second foray into the Newbury half. A strong shot beating Hunt in the Newbury goal and the scores level at one goal apiece on 56 minutes.

The tempo in this Cup-tie really increased with both sides now attacking and producing some real end to end football. The match was evenly balanced, but the scales tipped firmly in Tower’s favour just ten minutes later when they forced an error in Newbury’s defence and a deflected shot again beat Hunt, to give Tower a 2-1 lead.

Newbury made an instant substitution, introducing Gemma Burnett in attack, with Beesley the player replaced. Again, Newbury seemed to have the attacking impetus, with Burnett winning the ball and finding Oliver, who could only shoot over the bar. They forced another corner just one minute later and a defender for Tower Hill cleared the ball off the line. It was now desperate times for Newbury, with time running out. Sam Atkins was brought on in place of McConnon and was the final Newbury sub on 74 minutes.

As the match entered the last 5 minutes of normal time, it looked like Burnett had found an equaliser, when Panting’s pass saw her unmarked in the box. As the lofted ball was falling, Burnett cleverly flicked it

goal-wards, but it sailed just the wrong side of the crossbar. Newbury were not to be denied however and forced a quickly taken corner, which Tower only half cleared. Oliver was storming in at the rear of the penalty area and pouncing on the loose ball, she struck a low first time shot that powered into the bottom corner. It was an equalising second goal, which Newbury fully deserved. 2-2 now the score-line with just 2 minutes, plus add-on time remaining.

So it was that Newbury had taken the tie into a 30 minute period of Extra Time. Surely now just one goal for either side would be enough to win the encounter. Tower’s players looked deflated as Extra Time began, but it was the same old story for Newbury, as they continued to create chance after chance, but without finding a clinical finish.

The first 15 minutes of Extra Time passed, with the scores still tied. As the Referee instructed both teams to have an immediate turn around, it was Tower Hill that kicked off for the second 15 minute period. They launched an immediate attack, with a cross coming into the Newbury area from the left. The ball flashed in front of the keeper and it was turned in from 6 yards at the rear post by a Tower Hill attacker. The visiting team had recaptured their lead after 108 minutes of play. 3-2 now to Tower Hill Ladies.

Again, it was the first time during the extra period that Tower had attacked, but they had proved themselves the more clinical of the two sides. Clearly knocked back, Newbury’s players dug in to try to rally once more in the final 12 minutes. Panting was drifting more and more to the right for Newbury and when she took possession five minutes later, she tore passed the full back and cut into the area, before unleashing a wickedly ferocious shot across the keeper. Somehow the Tower goalkeeper was equal to it, as she dived full length to her right, palming the ball away with a strong hand. It was a superb save that would prove decisive in helping her side to go on and win the tie.

In the final eight minutes, Tower Hill intelligently took control of the game, slowing the tempo, winning repeated throw-ins deep into Newbury territory and preventing their hosts from attacking any further. So as the Referee blew his whistle on 121 minutes to signal the end of the tie, it was the Tower Hill team from Oxfordshire who marched into the next round of the competition with a hard fought 3-2 victory. Newbury were left to lick their wounds and instead re-focus their eyes on the Division One league campaign.

Match report by Sue Hewett