Ipswich Town Women secured a historic place in the quarter-finals of the Women’s FA Cup by beating fellow FA Women’s National League Southern Premier side Southampton on penalties following a tightly-contested tie at the Goldstar Ground which had ended 1-1 after extra-time, Saints goalkeeper Kayla Rendell having scored a sensational last-gasp equaliser after Anna Grey had put the Tractor Girls in front.
In front of a club record record attendance of 1,167, Town boss Joe Sheehan named an unchanged side from the one that had beaten Crawley Wasps 2-0 the previous weekend for the third meeting of the two sides this season.
As the game progressed, it was clear to see why both teams are competing at the top of the Southern Premier Division with very little to separate the sides and neither goalkeeper called into any significant action.
The Tractor Girls grew into the game as the first half progressed and looked more confident on the ball, but it was Southampton who had created more chances by the break.
The second half went on much as the first with neither side particularly threatening to break the deadlock.
Eloise King replaced Maddie Biggs on 68 minutes and soon after had the ball in the back of the Saints’ net from a Lucy Egan flick on, but the effort was ruled out for offside.
Southampton’s only real effort came from a free-kick on the edge of the Town box in the 79th minute, which was put well wide.
On 90 minutes Natasha Thomas, who had received treatment several times during the half, was substituted for Eva Hubbard with Grey, who had replaced Lucy Egan on 83 minutes, moving into an attacking role.
The second half finished 0-0 and the game moved into extra-time with the first 15 minutes seeing very little in the way of attacking options for either side.
Ipswich started the second period brightly and opened the scoring on 110 minutes. A neat cross from Hubbard just eluded Zoe Barratt in the area, however Southampton failed to clear their lines and skipper Bonnie Horwood was able to set up Grey to smash the ball in the top-left corner to give Town the lead, to the delight of the home supporters.
The Blues continued on the front foot for the remainder of the half, however, Southampton kept their heads up and having won a corner in the final minute remarkably levelled the game with a towering header from their goalkeeper Rendell.
The referee brought an end to extra-time almost immediately after the restart, forcing the game to penalties with Sheehan bringing on Lucy O’Brien and Issy Bryant for Kyra Robertson and Summer Hughes respectively.
With the teams shooting towards the Dave Ashford Stand, O’Brien stepped up to the spot and scored with her first touch of the afternoon.
Town keeper Sarah Quantrill then put the Tractor Girls in the driving seat with a great save, correctly guessing which way Southampton’s Lucia Kendall was putting the ball.
Issy Bryant, Zoe Barratt and Paige Peake, the latter having put in a terrific defensive performance throughout the game, all scored their spot-kicks with Southampton scoring in reply each time, before Quantrill again made another save, this time from Katie Rood’s tame effort, to send Ipswich Town Women into the last eight of the competition for the first time and the Blues faithful into ecstasy.
The Tractor Girls, now the lowest ranked team remaining in the FA Cup, now look forward to the quarter-final draw at 9.15am on Tuesday to find out who their opponents in the next round will be, with the tie to be played on the weekend of 19/20 March.
Town: Quantrill, Hughes (Bryant 120), Peake, Smith, Egan (Grey 83), Lafayette, Horwood, Robertson (O’Brien 120), Barratt, Thomas (Hubbard 90), Biggs (King 68). Unused: L Jackson, A Jackson. Att: 1,167.