Manchester United women have lost a penalty shootout in the Conti Cup against Durham.
United started the game well and, despite a hugely upset side, there was some good link-up play in the first five minutes that allowed Rachel Williams to shoot from the edge of the box.
United dominated possession but struggled to break down the Durham defence.
Minute 22 and United made the breakthrough. It was Jade Moore who found the goal with a beautiful volley.
The Reds kept up the intensity and won a corner. The Durham box was a mess as both sets of players battled for the ball but Durham managed to clear it.
Durham took 37 minutes to get their first chance of the half, but was no threat to Sophie Baggaley when she flew over the bar.
However, on the stroke of halftime, Durham managed to recover one, Jessica Clarke’s free kick found the bottom right corner. The reds were in shock.
The second half started and it was Boe Risa who had the first opportunity of the period, but he couldn’t avoid his shot.
Moments later, Rachel Williams came close, but her effort went wide of the post.
Finally, United managed to bury one of their chances. Vilde Boe Risa’s right shot from the right side of the inside of the area that is on the right side of the goal.
United did not make life easy for them although at the other end the few chances they had were on goal, luckily Baggaley saved Lambert’s shot.
Club captain Katie Zelem, coming on as a substitute, came close to making it 3-1 but, again, her shot went wide.
Durham continued to grow in the game and in the last ten to fifteen minutes, it was the champion team that dominated and came closest to scoring.
His persistence paid off as he equalized in the 92nd minute.
It was penalties that decided the bonus point, Reds fans were disappointed after thinking their team had turned a corner this year, they were in danger of falling out of the conti-cup group stage.
Their penalty taker Zelem completely missed the target, while Durham’s Hepple found the bottom corner.
Turner’s penalty was saved and again Durham found the goal. Boe Risa was the only United player to find the goal, but the Reds were confident Durham would make a mistake now.
After the hosts won 3-1 on penalties, Le Tissier needed to score, but his effort was stopped and it was all over for the Reds.
Team: Baggaley, Thorisdottir, Moore (Zelem 62), Boe Risa, Thomas, Ladd, Le Tissier, Leon, Tounkara, Turner, Williams (Parris 72)
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