GFA Women’s Challenge Cup Round One

Cheltenham Civil Service Ladies 3 Dursley Town Ladies 3 (Civil Service won 4-3 on penalties)

DURSLEY Town Ladies can count themselves particularly unlucky to exit the County Cup after outplaying higher-division Cheltenham Civil Service for long periods of Sunday’s first round encounter.

The visitors recovered from the loss of an early goal to twice take the lead and the hosts needed a late equaliser to get the game to penalties, where they finally prevailed.

Civil Service opened the scoring inside two minutes, but Town were level on the quarter-hour when Michelle Watson played in Yazmin Laver and she beat the goalkeeper.

The home side then made a hash of defending a corner and Watson pounced to fire home from inside the six-yard box before Laver had a third goal controversially disallowed.

Cheltenham equalised early in the second half, but Sophie Lawrence restored the Dursley lead from a Jess Brown free-kick only for the hosts to save themselves inside the last five minutes.

Brown, Watson and Laver netted Dursley’s first three penalties in the shoot-out, but Alex Gwyther and goalkeeper Stephanie Hill both missed, while Civil Service netted four out of four.

Dursley: S Hill; S Drew, C Trinder, N Rawsthorn; E Allen, S Lawrence, M Watson, R Allen, J Brown; Y Laver, A Gwyther. Rolling substitutes: K Turl, Z Porch.

Goals: Laver (15), Watson (25), Lawrence (65). Penalties: Brown (goal – 1-0), Watson (goal – 2-1), Laver (goal – 3-2), Gwyther (miss – 3-3), Hill (miss – 3-4).