Shoot-out agony as Weymouth Ladies go out

WEYMOUTH Ladies put up a gallant display against Aldershot Town in the second qualifying round of the FA Women’s Cup, only to suffer the heartbreak of crashing out on penalties.

With the Shots leading the Southern Region Premier Division, few gave Weymouth a chance prior to the match at the Bob Lucas Stadium but they pushed their opponents all the way.

Aldershot showed their class in the early exchanges by dominating possession but the Terras held firm until the 25th minute when a long ball found one of the visiting forwards, who sent a well-placed shot into the corner of the net.

That left the home crowd fearing the worst but the Terras upped their game after that with skipper Rosie Sharpe leading by example with some crunching challenges.

Amy Wild then beat her marker on the half-hour to equalise with a fine left-footed strike before Jess Turk sped away just moments later to slide the ball under the onrushing keeper to put Weymouth into a shock 2-1 lead.

Town looked stunned but just before the break it was all square again thanks to another well-taken goal.

Weymouth continued to battle after the interval and even when Aldershot went 3-2 up the hosts managed to hit back again courtesy of an excellent volley from Bianca Randall.

The tie then moved into extra-time where the home side went closest to snatching the win through Bryony Webb, whose long-range effort flew just inches over the crossbar.

With honours still even at the end of 120 minutes all eyes then went to the penalty spot where the drama continued.

Both teams missed their first attempts, with Eloise Adams pulling off a fine save for the Terras, but sadly the hosts were unable to hold their nerve as two more failed efforts eventually consigned them to defeat.