Fleet Town Ladies 0

Weymouth FC Women 4

Ackerman 50’ 80’ Manktelow 84’ Bonfield 88’

FA Women’s Cup 2nd Qualifying Round (02/10/22)

Ace Ackerman brace sends Terras through

Report: James Spring

Weymouth made it to the third qualifying round of the FA Women’s cup for the first time since re-forming after avoiding a potential banana skin in a tricky trip to Fleet Town of the Hampshire premier division.

Jasmine Wareham and Shakira Howard-Hachem made way for Ruby Clark and Tasha Sibley in the matchday squad.

The game would be played at a frantic tempo from the very start. Just 2 minutes in, captain for the day Becca McManus found herself with space to shoot from the edge of the D. Her shot bounced awkwardly in front of the goalkeeper who did well to palm it behind for an early corner which was cleared.

Despite sitting one level below Weymouth in the pyramid, Fleet didn’t take long to grow into the game, and on 8 minutes they worked it well down the left flank and flashed a ball across the face of goal but it evaded everyone.

A minute later Fleet saw a shot fly narrowly over the crossbar from range, before Weymouth broke straight down the other end and Ackerman rolled a shot across the face of goal from a tight angle after being forced wide by the full-back.

The frantic pace continued with Osment holding onto a shot from around 25 yards, whilst at the other end, Kristina Manktelow curled a shot wide of the post after being set up by Ackerman.

Fleet would have another shot over the bar on 24 minutes, whilst Beth Barnard-Irons curled a shot wide of the post from the corner of the box.

Weymouth’s best chance of the first half arrived on 36 minutes when Ackerman managed to beat the full-back and get to the byline before pulling it back for Gracie Billing on the edge of the box, but her first-time effort was just over the crossbar.

McManus stung the home goalkeeper’s palms with a strike from the edge of the box on the stroke of half-time, as the two sides went in level at half-time.

Kicking down the slope in the second half, Fleet briefly thought that they had made the breakthrough on 49 minutes when they had the ball in the net, but the linesman raised his flag for offside.

It would provide pivotal as a minute later, Ackerman gave Weymouth the crucial advantage.

A slick passing move led to Manktelow playing a through ball into the path of Ackerman who raced away from the defence and calmly slotted the ball under the goalkeeper to give Weymouth the lead.

There was a heart-in-mouth moment for the Terras shortly afterwards as Fleet saw very strong penalty appeals waived away by the referee, and on the hour mark, Harriet Freeman was on hand to make a goal-saving block – throwing herself in front of a shot to deflect it behind for a corner.

Ackerman had a glorious chance to double the lead on 65 minutes when she was played through by Annie Redding, but maybe she had too long to think about it as she hit the shot straight at the goalkeeper who held onto it.

As the game entered the final quarter, Fleet were beginning to throw more and more players forwards, and on 79 minutes they were very nearly in on goal, but the ever-dependable Emma Potter was on hand to make what was surely a goal-saving intervention in the box.

It would prove decisive, as Weymouth counterattacked and doubled their lead in almost identical fashion to the first goal.

Another defence-splitting pass from Manktelow was latched onto by Ackerman and she made no mistake this time – slotting home to double the lead.

Weymouth were rampant now, and they killed off any lingering Fleet hopes 4 minutes later. Ackerman picked up possession in the left channel and played it infield to Redding who teed up Manktelow. She cut inside a defender before finding the bottom left corner from the edge of the box to wrap the game up.

And there was still time for one more goal, and a truly special moment it was for young Sophie Bonfield who scored her first goal for Weymouth. What a goal it was too! She received a pass from Ackerman in the middle of the Fleet half and set off on a magnificent solo run – riding several challenges before rifling the ball into the bottom left corner from the edge of the box to cap off a memorable cup away day for the Terras.

It was a solid team effort from Weymouth. They had to work extremely hard against a good Fleet side, but defensively they were flawless and in the second half, they were clinical. A thoroughly professional job done for the Terras and a place in Monday’s draw for the third qualifying round awaits!

In the Dorset women’s league, it was a difficult afternoon for Weymouth’s development team against Poole Town Reserves. Weymouth had taken an early lead and were level at half time but injuries forced them to play most of the second half with just ten players, and a strong Poole side ran out 6-1 winners.

Terras: Osment, Taylor, Potter, Freeman, Bywater, Billing, Redding, McManus, Manktelow, Barnard-Irons, Ackerman.

Subs used: Sewry, Bonfield, Clark.