Preston North End Women’s run in the Argyle Sports Plate Cup came to an end at the quarter-final stage, as they lost 3-0 to FC United of Manchester.
FC United, who are riding high in the league above, went 2-0 up within the first quarter of an hour, before adding a third on the hour mark.
North End were unable to respond with a goal but caused the home side problems, especially in the second half.
The hosts started strongly and went ahead in the fifth minute when a well-taken strike from the edge of the box found the top corner.
They continued to apply pressure and North End were defending well, until FC United went further ahead on the quarter-hour mark. A cross from the right saw Dixon score her second of the game.
For the remainder of the half, both teams battled in the middle of the park for possession, but neither could find a breakthrough and it was 2-0 at half time.
North End came out strongly in the second half and had a number of opportunities that they were unable to convert in the opening 15 minutes.
As pressure built from the Lilywhites, Madison Hadley had a shot saved by the home goalkeeper, before Beth Wilson hit the crossbar a couple of minutes later.
The rebound fell to Hadley, but she was unable to convert the effort. With North End moving the ball around well and with purpose, they started to create more opportunities.
However, it was FC United who went three ahead after a long-range effort by Kelly found the bottom corner.
More chances came and went for both sides and North End continued to press and cause the home team some problems.
In the end, though, another good Cup run came to an end for the Lilywhites.
Co-Manager, David Rawcliffe said: “I thought we gave them too much respect in the first half and we weren’t able to impose our game. We changed a couple of things at half-time and in the second half, I thought we played some good football and stopped them coming forward as much.
“We had some great chances to get back in the game, and really put them under pressure, but in the end it wasn’t to be.”