Argyle Women have reached the semi-final of the FAWNL Cup for the second year in a row after confidently beating Lewes at The Dripping Pan on Sunday afternoon.
The 3-0 scoreline, thanks to a Phoebie Poole brace and a close-range finish by Tianna Teisar, was deserved by the Greens, after a possession-dominant performance was also backed up by a clean sheet away from home.
Poole’s two strikes both caught the eye of all in attendance. The first being a low, driven finish from outside the box, handing Argyle a one-goal advantage after the first 45 minutes of play.
The second was even better. After picking off a loose pass in the Lewes final third, the Argyle number nine drove forward, tidily took the ball around Emily Moore in the hosts’ goal, and passed into the open net, with a defender close behind.
Teisar’s goal had some Poole involvement as well. Poole’s shot at goal was parried by Moore straight into the path of Teisar, who managed to push the ball over the line with her knee, adding to the Greens’ advantage and taking the game out of Lewes’ reach.
Head Coach Marie Hourihan was looking for a reaction after defeat to Watford last week and, when reflecting on the 90 minutes, had only positives to say after her side secured their place in the final four of the competition.
“Today was a fantastic performance,” Hourihan told Argyle TV. “We spoke after last weekend and wanted a reaction today. I thought from minute one, with and without the ball, we were excellent. The intensity, tempo and our press were all spot on today. The only disappointment for me was that we weren't 3-, 4-, or 5-0 up at half-time because I think the performance level deserved and warranted it.
“In the second half, we knew that they'd come out and be a bit more aggressive, and press with a bit more intent, and we controlled that really well and created two or three really good opportunities. I'm happy, though. We've scored three goals, kept a clean sheet, and we're through to the semi-final.
“An important thing for me was - we've conceded a lot of goals recently, which we weren't happy with - we didn't give Lewes a chance today. That was a really pleasing aspect for me. I knew we would get the reaction, but it was more about the consistency of performance level across 90 minutes.
“We'd spoken beforehand about how we were good for 40, 60, or 70 minutes in games, but I thought today, our level was consistent across a full 90 minutes.
“These moments don't always come around, so we need to appreciate the fact we've progressed to a semi-final again, but we need to focus our attention now back into county cup and league action before that game comes around.
“Phoebie really deserved those two goals. I think her work rate against Watford was relentless, and it was similar today. She got the deserved outcome, certainly with her second goal, because that was created from her own hard work, winning the ball back and then having a really composed finish. It’s always good to see your forward scoring goals.
“Overall, we’ve come here, it's been freezing cold, absolutely hammering it down with rain, and we've managed those conditions really well. That intensity and performance level with the conditions, the travel and everything else, was really pleasing today.”
