Coventry City Ladies 3-1 Lichfield Diamonds
FA Women's Cup (1st Round Proper)
29th October 2006
Christine Wheeler reports
A hat-trick by Mel Byrne ensured Coventry City Ladies passage into the second round of the Women's FA Cup with a 3-1 extra time win over Lichfield Diamonds.
Despite having the majority of the possession for the first half, Coventry City couldn't find the back of the net and it wasn't until the fifty sixth minute that Mel Byrne got the home team on the scoresheet with a cleanly taken shot that sailed past the Lichfield keeper Steph Cole's right hand side.
A free kick by Rachel Patrick with eight minutes remaining made it level and condemned two exhausted sides to extra time as neither managed to snatch a winner in the remaining minutes.
Coventry had further chances on goal, but it wasn't until the 108th minute that Coventry retook the lead. Natalie Wilcox sent in a beautifully floated cross that gave Byrne an easy header into the net.
The striker completed her hat-trick in the final minute of extra time with a shot to the near post from wide right. The goalie fumbled the ball with Emma Lipman smacking the ball into the net for good measure. This was Coventry's second hat-trick in as many weeks with Sinead Wade bagging three against Chesterfield last week.
After the game there was a debate raging over who scored the final goal. Both Byrne and Lipman were adamant the goal was theirs with the squad split down the middle. The final decision was not up to the players though, as manager Stuart Wilson said: “The linesman had already given it to say it crossed over the line. Mel deserved the hat-trick”.
Coventry team: Kerry Williamson, Natalie Wilcox, Jenny Lowe, Kelly Henson (Alison Forbes, 65), Natasha Lynch, Maria Cartwright, Kelly-Ann Willis (Kirsty Robson, 65), Emma Lipman, Melissa Byrne, Sinead Wade (Helen Dermody, 103), Leanne Griffin