United put in solid shift to see off Foxes

At times there was little between Loughborough Foxes and Sheffield United. Cup games are great levellers of course. Although, as recently as last season these two sides lined up against each other.

United ran out winner 2-0 to set up a fifth-round tie against Aston Villa next Sunday. They were made to work for it against a well-organised Foxes side.

At any other venue, this game could have been called off for the second week in a row; as sitting water on the stadium pitch meant it was not fit to play on. Loughborough University has quality facilities and another pitch was found although squelchy in places. It did nothing though to diminish the quality of the football as both teams looked to pass it around and create the chances.

United thanks in part to their elevation to the Championship were the favourites against Loughborough Foxes a team now in the tier below. For large parts of the game, United bossed the important areas in midfield but the Foxes held on. There were times when the home side looked capable of causing an upset. Eva Rogers was sharp in attack and a couple of runs caused the United back line problems. Her best chance came on 50 minutes when she lost her marker and the ball deflected off the crossbar.

Charlotte Cooper was the first player to test either of the keepers as she broke free and forced Nikki Davies the Welsh international to make the save.

Amy Burle was the busier of the two keepers but could do nothing to stop Alethea Paul’s 14th-minute strike from the 20 yards out and curled out of the reach of Burle beat her dive.

Burle made several crucial saves, most of which denied Ebony Salmon from scoring a hat full. The best of the lot was in the forty-second minute when Salmon was again denied by a stretching stop prevented the South Yorkshire side doubling their lead just before half-time.

Much of United’s good work came down the right with Jade Pennock who put in a cross after cross only to see her efforts miss her teammates agonisingly in front of goal.

Veatriki Saari doubled the United lead finishing after a scramble inside the Foxes box reacting quicker than anyone else to make things safe for the Championship side.