Report | Kidderminster Harriers 3-3 Shrews Women (5-4 pens)

Shrews Women exited the Adobe Women’s FA Cup on penalties yesterday afternoon. 

Town started the game off brightly as Abbie Lutton went close after brilliant play between Jeorgia Carr and Katie Doster that saw the latter drill a ball across the face off goal. Lutton managed to get a touch but it wasn't enough as the Kidderminster keeper gathered the ball up. 

Shrewsbury continued to look promising, however, it was Kidderminster who got the breakthrough. A ball played over the top of Shrewsbury’s defence bounced awkwardly for goalkeeper Marlah Monro, allowing Kidderminster’s Mill Rogers to loop the ball over her, scoring in the 15th minute.  

Shrewsbury responded immediately from kick off with Mia Evans launching the ball forward. Lutton picked up the scraps and found Doster, who took on her marker and fired a superb strike from the edge of the box into the roof of the net. 

Kidderminster regained their lead in the 35th minute with a low cross. It fell to Amber Lawrence, who calmly slotted it into the bottom corner. 

Town weren’t disheartened, though, and Doster’s brilliant pressing paid off in the last few minutes of the first half as she won the ball off Harriers' defence, going through on goal and calmly placing the ball into the far corner.  

Doster completed her hat-trick early in the second half after Lutton lofted the ball into the box from the edge of the area. The Kidderminster goalkeeper fumbled her catch and Doster was quickest to react, scrabbling it into the net to give Shrewsbury the lead in the 50th minute 

Monro – who had made a host of brilliant saves in the game – continued to build on her impressive performance, pulling off yet another great save to keep Shrewsbury ahead for the last 20 minutes. 

It looked as though Town were going to progress until Kidderminster found a late equaliser to break Salop hearts. Liv Woolston’s powerful shot sent the game to penalties. 

After eight rounds of spot kicks, the crossbar denied Town, thus knocking them out of the FA Cup.

Starting XI – Monro, Wallace, Owen, Raby, Brown, Lutton, Evans, Carr, Griffiths, Doster, Jones. 

Bench – Child, Jennings-Davies, Joseph, Woodward, Stanley, Kingscott, Benjamin.