Women's Under-19s beaten by Luton in FAWNL Cup opener

Our Women’s Under-19s suffered a 4-1 defeat to Luton Town in the opening group game of the FA Women’s National League Cup on Wednesday evening.

Despite a positive first period for our youngsters at Sharpenhoe Road, who just lacked the cutting edge in the final third, it was the visitors who were the more clinical in the box with three first-half goals.

Shanice Lewis opened the scoring, Courtney Ward-Chambers then doubled their lead before, on the stroke of half-time, Amber Leighton added a third with a composed finish past Sophie Jackson.

Matters got worse after the break as the hosts were awarded a penalty mid way through the second half with Cruz Fuller-Fagan subsequently dismissed for the foul. Shianne Swarres converted from spot.

Holly-Mae Elmes grabbed a late consolation goal for our young side - her first goal at Under-19s - with an excellent curling effort from the edge of the box, although we were then reduced to nine players as Heidi Hills was dismissed in the closing stages.

We were on the front foot inside the opening minute in Bedfordshire, Poppy Neill delivering a fierce ball across the face of the goal, before the woodwork was struck twice in a matter of minutes. Lewis’ effort from distance smashed against the post and, seconds later at the other side of the pitch, Eloise Summers-Mee’s attempted cross bounced off the top of the crossbar. Hills fired over the bar from inside the box in a positive opening quarter-of-an-hour for our Under-19s, however it was home side who struck first on 18 minutes, Lewis drilling low into the bottom corner after we failed to clear our line with a free-kick into the area.

Then, eight minutes from the break, Luton doubled their advantage as Ward-Chambers headed home from close range from a corner on the left. Showcasing their clinical prowess in front of goal, converting twice from set-pieces, they added a third with the last kick of the first period as Leighton raced behind the backline and calmly slotted the ball past Jackson to give the hosts a healthily advantage at the break.

Ruby Gaitely shot on the turn from edge of the box went wide and Hills’ effort from range was routine for Sarah Hudson as we looked for a response after the restart and despite controlling large parts of possession, we were unable to find a breakthrough against a resilient Luton defence. However, on 69 minutes, the home side were awarded a penalty and we were down to 10 as Fuller-Fagan was dismissed for bringing down the last player. Swarres stepped up to take the spot-kick and cooly converted to further extend their advantage on the night.

Hills forced Hudson to a low save to her right before we managed to find the breakthrough with five minutes remaining from normal time, substitute Elmes curling low into the bottom corner from the edge of the box. In stoppage time, we were down to nine players as Hills was dismissed for an incident off the ball, as we turn our attention to the next two fixtures in the competition – away to Oxford United (7 September) and MK Dons (28 September).

Match data

Goals: Luton – Lewis 18, Ward-Chambers 37, Leighton 45, Swarres 71; Spurs – Elmes 85

Yellow card: Luton - O'Leary 90.

Red cards: Spurs – Fuller-Fagan 69, Hills 90.

Venue: Sharpenhoe Road.

Weather: Clear skies with a breeze, 18 degrees.

"This will kick start us to show we are not there yet, but I have full faith we will get there"

Reflecting on the game, Head Coach Sabiha Jamal said: “On reflection, it was always going to be a learning curve. We knew it was going to be a tough challenge, Luton started their season strongly in a new league for them and we knew they would come into this game with plenty of experience, so despite our preparation in pre-season, I don’t think much prepares the squad more than being in a competition with senior opposition. We have to use this game to reflect on where we are at individually and just be really honest about where we are, but if we were ever to have an experience like this, I’m glad it’s the opening game of the season so we have no excuses for the next game in the group. We still have a lot to work on and this will kick start us to show we are not there yet, but I have full faith we will get there."