Oxford City Women’s FA Cup dream ended this afternoon as an impressive Swindon Town Women won 3-0 at the MGroup Stadium to book their place in the next round.

A record crowd to see City Women saw a hat-trick from visiting captain Annie Colston send the Robins through despite a magnificent effort from the City players who gave it their all in a full-blooded cup tie..

City sat deep and tried to frustrate their unbeaten visitors but a sixth minute penalty from Colston gave the higher league side an early advantage and when the same player fired home her second goal after 32 minutes it gave The Hoops too much to do after the break.

They rode their luck at times  and the introduction of young forward Yasmin Edwards gave them fresh impetus in the closing stages  but they found a Swindon backline, well-marshalled by Oxford girl Sahara Osborne-Ricketts, just too tough to break down and Colston's third, a well-taken hooked effort after 83 minutes, merely confirmed the result.

No shame in defeat and huge credit to the players for a phenomenal effort in which Emily Harris and Ellie White covered miles up front trying to find an opening and the backline threw their bodies bravely in the way of shots, crosses and anything else that came their way

Further forward Anna O’Leary, having missed her graduation at The University of Oxford to play in the game, was First Class but so was everyone around her.

The FA Cup run ends and will hurt, but successive crowds of 500, 600 and now over 700 show the progress and potential that Oxford City Women have.

The adventure ends today. The journey continues...

CITY

Gerrow, Ayers, Leach, Lester (Walecki 61) Parsons (Edwards 61), Bough-French (Davis 84), Craven, O’Leary, Gorman, Harris, E White

SUBS
Maskell, Tayman, Wellington-Faissal, L White

Att: 757

Report by Chris Williams, pictures Darrell Fisher