Four goal Nicole fires Quakers into the next round of the Women's FA Cup
Four goal Nicole fires Quakers into the next round of the Women's FA Cup
By Ray Simpson
Great 6-1 win over Ripon
Nicole Graham scored four times as Quakers thumped Ripon 6-1 to move into the second qualifying round of the Women's FA Cup on Sunday afternoon.
It was a great performance, considering that Ripon are two leagues above Quakers, and now they can look forward to playing Blyth Town at home in the second qualifying round on Sunday 2nd October, kick off 2pm
Here are interviews with Nicole Graham and manager Shaun MacKenzie
Here's the match report by Chris Barrett:
It was FA Cup day for Darlington FC Women who were up against higher division Ripon City Ladies and Darlington were looking to better the impressive cup run the team went on last season. Prior to the game, a minute's silence was impeccably observed in honour of the passing of the late her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.
Darlington started the game with a high intensity and the difference was clear from the outset that it would be a quicker pace than was seen in the previous game against Spraire Ladies. There was only one change from their previous win with youth product striker Nicole Graham got the nod up front due to her recent goal scoring exploits and initially was linking up well with Chloe Ryan and Hattie Raine to create a couple of half chances that didn’t manage to test the Ripon keeper.
Only ten minutes into the game, Ryan managed to get some space on the right hand side of the box and get a strike at goal. The ball looped up after a save from the keeper with Graham stooping to get a glancing nod onto the ball which helped to scramble the ball over the line to give Darlington the lead.
It was only 3 minutes later when Darlington doubled their lead, this time it was Raine who was the provider with a smart incisive ball through to Graham who ran through on goal, she cut back to evade the defender and finished with her left foot low past the keeper to get her second of the game.
With Darlington trying to build on the lead, it meant gaps opened up and this allowed Ripon to break on the counter, as the space opened up for a shot it required a last second great block from Lily Large to stop the attack.
As Darlington retrieved the ball it was swiftly played to Toni Upton who clipped a ball forward to Graham who broke the line of defence and raced to beat the keeper. She reached the ball first and lofted it high over the keeper, it hung in the air for what felt like an eternity but it dropped down and bounced into the net for it to complete the perfect hat trick for Graham.
On 23 minutes Darlington were 4-0 up with Raine again providing the assist with another measured pass through the middle which allowed Graham to use her pace to nip in before the keeper could reach the ball and it allowed Graham to take it round her and then she was able to slot it past the recovering defenders.
Darlington maintained the pressure and this was nearly exploited with a gap opening in the defence but the recovering defensive pressure from Emma Doudican was enough to force the striker to shoot wide.
On the half hour mark it was five with the ball recovered in defence by Lou Brown who brought it to the right wing and played it down the line to Chloe Ryan who hit the cross on the run, it was a dangerous cross which drifted towards goal and caught the keeper off guard who clawed at the ball but could not prevent it from drifting in.
There was disappointment on 36 minutes when another counter attack from Ripon allowed an overload in the centre which allowed three attackers to work together to create an opening and striking the ball in off the underside of the bar. Ripon again broke through the defence and it took a well timed low claim from Ellen Atkinson to avoid giving Ripon another goal.
Darlington started the second half strong and Emma Doudican managed to break down the left hand side with her pace and it required a smart save from the keeper to deny Darlington another goal. A bizarre decision was made not to award a foul after Emma Carter was wiped out with a poor tackle meaning she had to be substituted from the game to be replaced by Gabi Paduriaru.
On the hour mark, Darlington got their sixth. Doudican fed the ball to Ryan on the left hand side who drove at the goal and struck the ball with enough power, so the keeper could not get enough on the ball to stop the ball from going in. Ripon did not give up and continued to push on and Atkinson was called upon numerous times to keep the ball safe out of Darlingtons net. The stopper jumped bravely to claim a high ball from a corner through a crowd of players landing hard but keeping the ball in hand.
Darlington maintained their discipline with substitute Padurariu making a number of key interceptions and the back line holding firm for another solid defensive performance and another important win.
It was an all round impressive performance from the team who showed great intensity throughout against quality opposition and this will be needed again in the next round if they are to have a good run in the cup.
Player of the match had to go to Nicole Graham who had the golden touch when scoring goals with her perfect hat trick but also lead the pack from the off showing great tenacity to match her finishing skills.
