Reading Women 1 Brentford Women 2: Bees progress to WFA Cup first round proper | OneFootball

Brentford Women beat Reading Women 2-1 in third round qualifying of the Adobe Women's FA Cup at Arbour Park on Sunday afternoon.

Maddie Phillips scored the opening goal of the game before Khyri McKenzie added a second late on, with Reading making it a tense finish with a stoppage-time goal.

Brentford's first chance of the game came on 12 minutes, when Phillips' in-swinging corner was met by her centre-back partner Regan Graver underneath the crossbar but she flicked her header just wide.

Two minutes later, the Bees had the lead through skipper Phillips' second in as many games. After Asees Sangha won a free-kick 20 yards out, the Bees' no.2 fired a trademark effort beyond Jess Webb to make it 1-0.

After the opening goal, the Royals had a good spell of pressure without creating anything clear-cut - Liberty Morrice-Bartlett and Phillips both making vital clearances to prevent a Reading shot at goal.

On the half-hour mark, Morrice-Bartlett played an excellent reverse pass into Sangha, who slipped Chelsie Berry in behind, but her curved effort was too close to Webb and Carly Williams' side went into the interval with a slender lead.

The Royals came out fast after the break and Tatiana Saunders had to be alert less than 60 seconds after the restart to smother the ball at the feet of Keren Banduka.

The west Londoners had an excellent chance on 60 minutes but Berry took too long to feed McKenzie on the transition from winning the ball and Webb was able to close down the angle and claim the ball.

Kirsty Matthews, Esme Alaneme and Maï Louvrier were all introduced to try to find a second to give the Bees a cushion.

In what was a second half of very few chances, Renai McCrea had the next one on 77 minutes, bending a long-range effort wide.

Then, with just over five minutes to play, McKenzie found the second. The striker used her body superbly to shrug off Sarah Thompson and win the ball back inside the Reading box, before poking her effort in off the far post to make it 2-0.

McKenzie injured herself in scoring the second and was replaced by Paula Holguin.

Reading sent a header from a free-kick just wide in stoppage-time and Saunders made an excellent block at the death.

There were 10 minutes added on and Reading found a goal in the ninth, bundling a goal-line scramble into the back of the net to make the final seconds tense.

Williams' side managed to hold on to the 2-1 lead to secure their place in the first round proper of the Adobe Women's FA Cup and make it nine wins of a possible nine in all competitions.

Reading: Webb, Thompson, Banduka, Poole (Rowden 69), Whitburn (Hayes 69), King, Bolitho (Knight 80), Fatri (Johnson 69), Banduka, Cowell, Manners

Subs: Butler, Lamden, Norfolk

Brentford: Saunders, Phillips, Graver, Potter, Harris-Walters (Alaneme 74), Sangha (Louvrier 56), Down, McCrea, McKenzie (Holguin 86), Berry, Morrice-Bartlett (Matthews 56)

Subs: Thorne Ford, Worsley

Carly Williams on narrow 2-1 win in WFA Cup

Carly Williams reflects on her side's 2-1 win over Reading in the Adobe Women's FA Cup this afternoon.

"I think for large parts of it we were in control, I think there was a 10 or 15 minute spell in the second-half where we made it difficult," she explained.

"First-half we dominated and we've spoken about needing to be a bit more ruthless.

It was a good game and a good test for ourselves. They kept changing shape and we had to deal with that.

We had a few chances to put the game away on the break so it's about us being clinical but ultimately we're at the end of a three game week so I'm really proud of the girls."