Preston North End Women progressed to the last 16 of the Lancashire FA Women’s Challenge Cup after a 3-0 win against Bolton Wanderers Ladies Reserves.
It was a return to winning ways for the women’s first team after they bowed out of the Argyle Sports Kit North West Regional Cup against Salford City last weekend.
A Katie Woodhead penalty set the Lilywhites on their way in the first half, before Abi Cookson scored either side of the half-time interval to make sure of the win.
A handful of younger players came into the side for the cup clash, including teenagers Abi Jones, Ella Radcliffe and the aforementioned Cookson.
Sean Parkinson, development team manager, was standing in on the touchline in the absence of first team co-managers Nigel Greenwood and David Rawcliffe.
Speaking after the game, Parkinson said: “In the first half, we were nowhere near the standards we have set for ourselves in terms of spark, energy or quality on the ball.
“We got a fortunate penalty and scored a good goal through Abi in a moment of good quality, but probably didn’t deserve our 2-0 half-time lead.
“We had a good chat at half-time and credit to the girls, they sorted things out for the second half.
“We made a couple of changes and controlled the game in possession much better and scored another good goal to kill the game.”
Details of who North End will face in the next round of the competition will be shared on @PNE_WFC on Twitter as soon as they are available.
While it was progression for the first team, our development team could unfortunately not quite achieve the same feat. Emma Tunstall scored both goals in a narrow 3-2 away defeat against St Annes Ladies.
It’s yet more cup action for the women’s first team next weekend who face a huge clash against Bradford City AFC Women in the Women’s FA Cup third qualifying round.
Bradford play two divisions above PNE in the FA Women’s National League Division One North, and the two sides will go head-to-head on Sunday 23rd October at Bradford Park Avenue’s Horsfall Stadium, with a place in the Women's FA Cup first round proper up for grabs.