Record crowd as SJR Ladies exit the FA Cup in defeat to Lye Town

It was a great day for the club and a great day for the ladies, but Lye were just too strong for a hard-working SJR Ladies side as the visitors won 3-0.

Chairman Andrew Guest said: “It was great to see the 335 supporters getting behind the ladies, it is very much appreciated.

“The management are very proud of the Ladies for the way they conducted themselves on the day and how they have conducted themselves so far this season.

“We are also very proud of how the club came together on the day to show its great community spirit, the volunteers, supporters, mascots and the committee for what they have done on the day and make it an event and occasion for the ladies. For this we say a massive thank you to everyone involved, it means a lot.

“We’ve built a fantastic community club between us these past four years and it’s growing continuously.

“A massive well done to Lye Town, a great team and we have learned so much from the experience."

The game started lively enough for SJR as the impressive Emily Myatt turned inside her defender but bent her shot inches wide of the post.

Lye started taking control of the game and it was a rare SJR mistake that led to their first goal, well tucked away by the visiting centre forward.

Lye dominated possession of the ball as you would expect from a team top of the level above.

Their main outlet was down their right hand side, and this was giving Aimee Roper some problems.

Aimiee soon got to grips with her opponent and the game started to become a little more even in terms of territory, with the back five of Walker in goal, Roper, Abbie Lister, Lucie Spendiff and Lauren Cundy holding firm and repelling the Lye attacks.

Cundy, in fact was very close to being player of the match herself as she gave her usual consistent performance at right back.

The midfield four of Rachael Bell, Lauren Bell, Amy O'Brien and Emily Murphy were working hard and doing a lot of good work off the ball in keeping Lye at bay.

The problem was SJR couldn't really get their foot on the ball and play, as Lye were very quick at closing the ball down and stopping them from getting a foothold in the game.

Myatt and Beth Gingell up front were causing problems but never looking like anything clear cut would come as the Lye defence made it difficult to get any chances.

The SJR management was hoping to get in at half-time one down so a few tactical changes could be made, but disaster struck, when SJR looked to have dealt with a corner comfortably, but what appeared to be a very soft penalty was given.

Lye made it 2-0 from the spot and this gulf gave SJR a bit of a mountain to climb.

The SJR ladies were in good spirits at half-time and felt that they had given a good account of themselves, and in the second half they became a little braver in possession.

This started to cause a few half chance in the Lye defence, but their quality soon snuffed out the attacks before they became quality chances.

A flowing Lye move then put the game to bed on the hour mark.

Ayesha Stead was introduced for Lauren Bell and she put in some quality tackles, showing the competitive side SJR have within this squad.

The game was settling and O'Brien was getting on the ball, along with Stead, and things were starting to happen, especially when O'Brien saw their keeper out of her goal, but her finish just wouldn't sit under the crossbar.

That was a shame as SJR deserved a goal for the way they hadplayed.

Tammy Hessey was introduced for Rachael Bell and Lilly Brown came into the game for Murphy.

The game edging to a finish with both sides still putting their all in, but the heavy surface had led to some tired limbs on both sides.

There was still time for Walker to produce a save that if it was made in the Premier League would have been shown over and over on television.

The full time whistle ended a game where Lye Town came and produced a very professional away day performance, and deserved their journey into the first round proper where they will meet West Bromwich Albion away as a reward.

The ladies are back in league action this weekend at Skegness Town.

Photos by Graham Poole