Two first half goals from Charlotte Whitmore secured a historic 2-0 FA Cup first round victory for City Women, as they defeated Hashtag United live on TNT Sports.
Whitmore bagged her brace before the clock struck 25 minutes, and City remained resolute throughout the remaining 65 to secure safe passage through to the second round, and their first clean sheet of the season.
Abbie Britton named an unchanged starting eleven for Exeter City from last week's 2-1 victory at Real Bedford, with captain Bow Jackson leading the team out at the Slee Blackwell Solicitors Stadium, while Darcey Maxted returned to the bench after missing the previous three games with concussion.
First half
Exeter City started off strong when Ishbel Zuurmond upheld a great battle with the opposing defence and won a free kick. The ball was whipped in by Phoebe Baker however it narrowly missed the attackers and the ball went behind the goal posts for a goal kick.
City kept the attacking momentum up though, and an extraordinary turn of pace from Amber Pollock down the right wing sent the ball past the Hashtag defender, delivering a precise pass into the penalty area, which found the feet of Charlotte Whitmore who placed it into the back of the net to put the Grecians 1-0 up.
After the restart, Nia Lewis sent a sliding ball through to the opposing end however the Hashtag goalkeeper was quick off the line and came and safely collected the ball. Lewis didn’t stop there, she was able to find Tia Asker down the left hand side, and Asker sent a ball in but it was too close to the keeper who was able to easily catch it.
Ten minutes in, Hashtag United had their first chance on target but too little power made it easy for Erin Foley to grasp the ball into her hands. Following a great touch from Phoebe Baker to bring the ball down, Nia Lewis was able to send a promising pass into Whitmore who headed the ball into the top right corner - narrowly missing the net due to a brave clearance from the Hashtag defender.
The opponents won a corner where they produced a dangerous looking ball into the box, but a great defensive header from captain Bow Jackson denied Hashtag of their opening goal.
Moments later, Nia Lewis delivered a perfect ball into the box with a header from Ellie Sara causing a scramble in the penalty box amongst the defenders, which resulted with Charlotte Whitmore getting the final touch to add to her advantage, making it 2-0 City.
Exeter City made an immediate quick start as Ellie Sara fancied her chance from a distance, but the keeper caught it to deny the Grecians of a third goal. Great build up play from Asker allowed Pollock to gather the ball at her feet, enabling her to shoot, placing the ball into the top corner - but the keeper made another great save to withstand the score and the ball was sent past the post for a City corner.
Play switched momentarily as the Hashtag United striker managed to skip past the City defence, finding herself in a crucial position to shoot. Almost scoring their opening goal, they hit the crossbar and the score remained 2-0 as the half time whistle blew.
Second half
The second half began with Hashtag on the up still looking for their opening goal, but it wasn’t long until Exeter placed pressure onto the competitors. Asker delivered a fantastic ball into the box which found loanee Lewis who saw a chance to get her name on the score sheet, but couldn’t find the target as she hit the crossbar.
With little amount of action going on, Exeter manager Abbie Britton decided to make changes to the lineup in hope to increase their lead. Substitute Georgia Vaccaro made an instant impact by winning a freekick that was cleverly taken by Jess Sandland, however due to the failure to reach anyone, Hashtag United saw an opportunity to go on the break, but Nia Lewis used her speed to get back and cleared up the ball to still deny the opponents of an opening.
Hashtag were still in desperate need to get a goal, the competitors saw their chance and a low ball was struck into the penalty area and finished off into the net, however the offside flag was raised and Hashtag was still searching for their first.
The pressure was still on City’s defence as a promising corner was sent in by Hashtag, causing chaos in Exeter’s own half, but Ffion Llewellyn bravely managed to get her body in front of the attackers and kept the ball out by launching it down the pitch. Vaccaro was quick to spot the pass and ran onto the ball, but the opposing keeper was quick off their line and the scored remained. Just a few seconds after, the Grecians saw an incredible run from their number 23 Amber Pollock, who started her sprint from her own half then took it towards the opponents goal, however a lack of power in the shot enabled Hashtag’s goalkeeper to calmly save it and deny Exeter of another chance.
The ball was sent down the other end and a great block from Giota Papaioannou at the back caused the ball to fall at the feet of Georgia Vaccaro who cleverly slided it to Emily Pitman who was through one on one with the keeper, however the shot was stopped and cleared away. City managed to gather the ball back yet again and substitute midfielder Darcey Maxted found herself in a spot to shoot at the edge of the box but, unfortunately it just went wide over the crossbar.
Hashtag United was still searching for their goal, when a throw in was played right into the box but goalkeeper Erin Foley stayed calm and denied them of their first goal.
As it hit injury time, Pollock managed to gather the ball from Hashtag’s corner and saw the run of Vaccaro who went through on goal but kicked it directly at the keeper causing the scoreboard to remain the same. In the last few moments of the game Vaccaro was through on goal yet again but the opposition’s goalkeeper made herself big and stopped another City chance. T
he final whistle blew and Exeter City won 2-0, advancing the Grecians to the second round of the Women’s FA Cup as well as finishing with their first clean sheet of the season.
The Grecians are back in action on Wednesday evening, as they host the Devon Derby at SJP! It's going to be a big one, so get your tickets in advance now and back City Women to make Devon red!
Exeter City Women: Foley, Pollock, Llewellyn, Jackson (C) (Sandland, 46'), Papaioannou, Asker, Baker (Poole, 74'), Lewis (Maxted, 79'), Zuurmond, Whitmore (Vaccaro, 66'), Sara (Pitman, 66').
Substitutes not used: Lockyer (GK), McGowan.
Goals: Whitmore 5', 21'.
Attendance: 354
Written by Darcie MacNamara