AFC Wimbledon Women saw their FA Cup journey come to an end in the most heartbreaking of ways on Sunday.
A thrilling encounter saw the scores finish up at 5-4 to Chatham Town in the end, with a spirited comeback from the Dons proving to ultimately be in vain.
The main focus for our Women will now be on achieving promotion in the league following a largely promising start to the season.
Manager Kevin Foster made two changes to the starting line-up that faced Saltdean United – Kelly Highman was back in the starting line-up in place of Hannah Mackenzie, and Molly Childerhouse came into midfield in place of injured Fran Ali.
Kicking off 30 minutes late due to some unforeseen circumstances, the first chance of the game fell to Chatham, but the shot was well handled by Lauren Allen.
Eight minutes in we took the lead, with some great work by Ashlee Hincks and Ellie Dorey on the right flank seeing an unmarked Ashleigh Goddard make no mistake in front of goal.
Chatham fought back strongly, with Nicola Gibson being forced into an excellent goal-line clearance after a dangerous corner was swung in. The hosts did find their equaliser soon after however as cries of “offside” rung around the ground.
The Dons responded well, and were close to scoring in the next attack. It was Chatham that took the lead, as Tish Nicholls was first on the end of a cross in from the right.
Wimbledon pushed forward and Goddard forced the Chatham keeper into a fantastic save 10 minutes before half-time, with Lucy Porter’s follow-up being cleared for a corner.
Things got even worse for our side just before half-time, as Chatham extended their lead directly from a corner.
This meant there was plenty of work for Wimbledon to do, as we came out firing on all cylinders in the second-half.
On 54 minutes Molly Childerhouse made way for Daisy McLachlan to make her debut for the yellow and blue. McLachlan made an impact straight away, as the Dons pushed forward and won more and more chances.
But it was Chatham who added another goal, as they scored a bullet header following a free-kick.
Wimbledon then got two quick goals back, with Hannah Billingham scoring the first from a Hincks free-kick, before the latter bagged the third after some beautiful work from Donovan.
In remarkable fashion, the comeback was completed with McLachlan getting on the scoresheet with a header from a Soares Martins cross to net her first goal for the Club.
There was a late twist in the tale to come, as Chatham were awarded a penalty which they converted in extra time.
It would prove to be a heartbreaking end to our FA Cup journey, but that comeback was truly one for the ages.
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