Charlton Women advanced through to the quarter-finals of the SSE Women’s FA Cup after beating Cardiff City 3-1 in the fifth round.
Three early first-half goals were enough to see out the opposition, with Kit Graham scoring twice and Charlotte Gurr adding the third.
Head coach Riteesh Mishra made one change to the side that lost 2-1 at home to Lewes in the FAWPL Cup quarter- finals last week with Chloe Brunton-Wilde coming in for Sam Pittuck due to illness.
Bright Start
It was the Addicks who started the game off in excellent fashion with some great passing play, leading to the opening chance of the game, drawing a free-kick after a foul on Graham just 20 yards away from goal.
However Gurr’s effort on goal was denied by the crossbar following a fine fingertip save from Cardiff keeper Estelle Randall.
After a dominating attacking display, it was Graham who broke the deadlock, after beating her marker on the edge of the area and fizzing the ball past Randall, making it 1-0 after 23 minutes.
Charlton continued to pile on the pressure, and it looked likely they would get a second goal just a few minutes later when their skipper Kim Dixson attempted an effort from long range, only to see it go narrowly wide.
Period Of Dominance
In the 29th minute, the Addicks doubled their lead with Graham scoring her second of the game after finding space from six yards out, meeting a cross into the box from teammate Olivia Lukasewich to make it 2-0.
The home side responded with an attack of their own, Katie Startup being called into action after saving an initial cross into the box following a quick break.
Despite Cardiff’s efforts, it wasn’t long before Charlton added a third, Gurr finishing from close range, maintaining her record of scoring in every single round, making it 3-0 in the 32nd minute after being played in by Charley Clifford.
With Charlton Women leading 3-0 at the interval, it looked to be a difficult task for Cardiff in the second-half to regain any kind of foothold in the match.
The home side got off to a bright start in the second half with attacks of their own, Startup being called into action once again as she denied Cardiff’s effort on goal from a free-kick following a foul by defender Nicole Pepper.
Comeback On?
Cardiff’s patience paid off as they got one back in the 53rd minute, a dangerous corner whipped into the area only to rebound off Pepper and into the back of the net, making it 3-1.
A long range shot from Cardiff’s Ffion Price nearly made it 3-2, her effort just smashing the top right of the crossbar, only to be cleaned up by Startup0.
However, a hearty fightback from the home side in the second half was not enough, as it was Charlton who held on to be victorious on the day, becoming the only team outside of the Women’s Super League left in the competition.