City Women came from behind to beat Swansea City 3-1 at the Swansea.com stadium with an enthralling second half performance.
Iain Darbyshire elected to make six changes to the team that beat Flint Town United in the Genero Adran Trophy last time out, with Grace Olsen, Lisa Owen, Hannah Power, Kerry Walklett, Mikayla Cook and Lily Billingham all recalled into the starting XI.
The hosts posted the first chances of the game with Olsen being called into action in the fifth minute, first denying Aimee Deacon’s first-timed effort before producing another stop from Chloe Chivers from the rebound.
Despite being short of chances in the first half, City had the ball in the back of the net in added time after Fiona Barry brilliantly skipped past her defender and forced the first stop of the evening from Amelia Forkings, with the rebound dropping to Cook to convert, however she was stood in an offside position.
Shortly after the break, Billingham played a superb through ball to Cook on the left wing, who then looked for Barry in the box. Unable to connect with the initial effort, she recycled the ball well to create a chance but hit the side netting with the effort.
Olsen was forced into another smart stop denying Emily Thomas’ curling effort towards the far post to push behind for a corner. The hosts did take the lead on the 56th minute mark via Deacon who converted at the near post.
However, the Bluebirds responded well, almost responding immediately as Barry played through Evans, who timed her run perfectly to go 1v1 with the keeper but dragged the shot narrowly wide.
Evans made no mistake on the next opportunity just minutes later, slotting home at the near post after being picked out by Cook for the equaliser.
A buoyant City then began creating chances for fun, with substitute Mackenzie Olden going close after pouncing on a loose ball in the box, followed by an effort from Cook who almost fired home from close range.
With 10 minutes to go, City won a free kick just outside the area, with Cook stepping up and hitting the top corner to put the visitors into the lead.
And victory was assured when Barry played in Billingham deep into stoppage time, who cooly slotted past Forkings in goal to ensure all three points went home to Leckwith.
Next up for the Bluebirds is a Bute Energy Welsh Cup fixture against Cardiff Met on 23rd November, with a 2pm kick-off.
FINAL SCORE: SWANSEA CITY 1-3 CARDIFF CITY
Swansea City: Forkings, Finch (C. Williams 29’), Murray, Turner, Wynne (Mitchell 69’), Deacon (Richards 88’), Chivers, John, Lake, Thomas (Trivett 69’), J. Williams ©. Subs Not Used: Rayer, Miller, Seaborne.
Cardiff City: Olsen, Owen, Price (Long 70’), Power ©, Jenkins, Curnock (Olden 45’), Barry, Walklett (Bowen 45’), Billingham, Cook, Evans. Subs Not Used: Chamberlain, Fletcher, Malin.
REACTION | IAIN DARBYSHIRE
“It was a great performance” Iain began. “The second half we were a lot cleaner with our possession, and we created some great chances on the transition and thankfully we managed to have the quality to win the game.
“There were so many great performances from today. Grace Olsen in goals, for a 16-year-old to perform as she did, I thought was incredible. The second goal, Mikayla has that quality in her locker, and she shows that time and time again where she can step up in the big games. Some special performances today, but a huge credit to the whole team.
“We were missing a few players coming into today so we had to rotate a bit but it sends a message that we’ve got great strength in depth. We believe we can be the best team in the league, and we just need to keep showing that on a weekly basis and making sure we perform when its needed. Today was a big test and we’ve come through and done really well in the game.”
REACTION | HELEN EVANS
“It’s an unreal feeling” Helen began. “It’s my second derby since I’ve joined and we’ve managed to secure the double over them in their stadium so it doesn’t get much better than that.
“We’ve got a brilliant squad full of players that can produce big moments. Everybody in the squad today had their moments. It was a real team performance to get the win today but we saw some real quality at times.
“The result sends a huge message. We’ve come to their stadium in the derby and we’ve come away with the win and we believe that we can beat anybody.”