Match report
AFC Wimbledon Ladies never recovered from Watford's blistering opening 20 minutes, and succembed to a 3-1 defeat.
The Dons almost profited from a weak backpass in the opening 10 seconds, Hourihan doing well to deny Sarah Flint, but it was the home side who went ahead in the 5th minute when they were controversially awarded a corner which O'Toole rose unopposed to head home. Keisha Ramos made a great saving tackle and Louise Cooper a good save from Hall before the home side went further ahead in the 13th minute. Cooper could only parry a Hall shot and Claire Gooch's attempted clearance ricocheted off Lander into the net. The Dons pulled a goal back against the run of play three minutes later when a Dons corner was only cleared to Ramos, who buried a low shot into the bottom corner from outside the area. Almost immediately Cooper cleared a corner behind off the post and Vicky Elcome headed Hall's shot off the line as the Dons tried to survive the barrage. The Dons now got into the game but in the 34th minute O'Sullivan broke the offside trap only to be denied by Cooper, but two minutes later there was no reprieve when the assistant referee missed Lander's run from two yards offside and the Watford striker ran on to claim her second.
The second half was a tamer affair, with Hourihan saving well from Julie Bygrave and Flint, then Cooper saving from North and turning a Lander header onto the bar with Gooch completing the clearance. In the closing stages a great Bygrave cross found Laura Smith unmarked at the far post only for her fierce shot to thud against the underside of the bar. Flint then had two shots blocked as the Dons shaded the second half, but the damage had already been done. |
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