Women’s Under-19s overcome the Dons in the FAWNL Cup

Our Women’s Under-19s completed the FA Women’s National League Cup group phase with a 3-1 victory over MK Dons at Stadium MK on Sunday afternoon.

Having suffered defeats to Luton Town and Oxford United in our previous two group games, a victory was needed against the Dons to give our youngsters any chance of progressing to the FAWNL Plate as one of the 20 best third-place sides and, after another penalty save from Erin Radbourne just before the half hour mark, we surged into the lead with two goals in three minutes ahead of the break.

Returning to the starting XI, Cruz Fuller-Fagan headed home the opening goal after an excellent assist from Rania Oukriss before the latter was involved in the second goal as she forced an own-goal to double our advantage with four minutes left on the clock in the first period, putting us in control of proceedings of the contest.

The Dons, who compete in tier four of Women’s football pyramid, searched for a way back into the game and while we weathered the storm for large spells of the second half, the hosts managed to pull a goal back through Molly Lemon on 85 minutes. However, just a minute later, we reinstated our two-goal advantage with a wonderful finish from Mia Endacott – her first goal of the season – to ensure the victory and secure our spot in the FAWNL Plate.

Photo courtesy of MK Dons

Chances were few and far between in the opening quarter-of-an-hour as a strong defensive line from us caught the home side in an offside position on a number of occasions. Our first opportunity, however, came on 18 minutes and we were inches away from breaking the deadlock as a swerving effort from Endacott inside the box, on the far right, crashed against the crossbar. However, on 26 minutes, the Dons were awarded a penalty as Beatrice Cunnison brought down Sydney Wotton but as shown on Wednesday against Palace, Radbourne was up to the task to deny the forward from the spot before Kendra Brown reacted well to then block the rebound effort off the line.

Then, 10 minutes later, we opened the scoring and it all started from some excellent work down the right by Oukriss as she twisted and turned to beat her defenders, showcasing some impressive footwork, to advance into the box before lifting the ball into the box for Fuller-Fagan to head home from close range. Three minutes later and we doubled our advantage with Oukriss at the heart of it once again down the right as her low cross was eventually turned home by a Dons’ defender.

Unsurprisingly the hosts came out on the front foot in the second as they searched for a way back into the contest, Cheyanna Burnett-Griffith firing just wide from a tight angle at the front post before Radbourne’s clearance ricocheted off Burnett-Griffith as the ball looped into the air, but Wotton was unable to get enough power on her header to convert. MK should have found the back of the net just after the hour mark as a corner from the left caused a big scramble inside the box but a combination of some excellent blocks and throwing our bodies on the line ensured our two-goal advantage remained intact.

The Dons halved the deficit on 84 minutes as Mollie Know’s low cross, after a clever run to get behind our backline, was tapped home by Lemon inside the six-yard box to create a nervy ending at Stadium MK but that was quickly distinguished as, just a minute later, we reinstated our two-goal advantage with an excellent finish from Endacott. Having won the ball back on the far left, Endacott advanced to the edge of the box before curling home into the far right top corner, hitting the underside of the crossbar, to secure our first win in the competition and our spot in the FAWNL Plate.

Sabiha Jamal made three changes to the side that draw to Crystal Palace Women Under-21s on Wednesday as she welcomed back Fuller-Fagan, Brown and Ruby Gaitely as they were all eligible to feature for their dual-registration club having featured for us earlier in the competition.

"It’s a big win for us a group, especially against senior opposition in a competitive environment"

Reflecting on the performance, Head Coach Jamal said: “I’m so proud of the squad to dig deep and win that game. We knew it was a must win and we fought throughout the 90 minutes, competing for every ball and scoring some excellent goals. We were able to stick to who we are, and making sure we were brave in and out of possession. I’m seeing the growth of each player, individually and collectively. It’s a big win for us a group, especially against senior opposition in a competitive environment, and I’m excited to see what the next round brings.”

Match data

Goals: MK Dons - Lemon 84; Spurs - Fuller-Fagan 38, OG 41, Endacott 85.

Yellow cards: Spurs - Cunnison 26, Barraclough 30.

Referee: Jordan Blunt.

Venue: Stadium MK.

Weather: Clear skies, 17 degrees.