Fleetwood Town Wrens Ladies secured their spot in the preliminary round of the Women’s FA Cup on Sunday, after beating Tranmere Rovers Women 3-2 away from home.
In this tough cup tie against fellow North West Premier Regional side, Tranmere Rovers, the Cod Army started out the better side.
In the 5th minute, Fleetwood took the lead after a nice interchange between Beth Gregory and Emily Jones resulted in an easy finish, making the game 1-0.
After two gilt-edged chances for Fleetwood to extend their lead before half-time but, after a Tranmere formation change, Town went in with just the one-goal advantage.
Ten minutes into the second half, Sophie Slater played a brilliant through ball to Jones, who was brought down in the box, which led to a penalty and a red card for Tranmere. Oatley stepped up to the spot and slotted the ball in the bottom left corner.
Just after the hour mark, Fleetwood extended their lead after a bit of magic from Gregory who decided to try her luck from 25-yards, with her strike finding the back of the net, restoring the Wrens’ two-goal lead.
Both Abby Fenton and Rebecca Lord made their competitive debuts later on in the game, replacing goal scorers Gregory and Oatley.
In the 80th minute, the Fleetwood defence failed to mark the back post, from a corner, which resulted in Tranmere pulling one back. This led to some pressure, but the side handled it well.
With this win, the Wrens Ladies are through to the next round of the competition, where they will face Rylands LFC on Sunday 20 September.
Town XI: Etheridge (GK), Hunter, Gordon, Bradshaw, E.Slater, Kennerley, Jones, S.Slater, Gibbins, Gregory (Daniel 66’), Oatley (Fenton 65’).
Unused subs: Ashton (GK), Black, Lord.