Evans strike puts Hammers into FA Cup semi-final with only only goal in win over Ipswich

By Football Reporter

West Ham United booked their place in the Vitality Women’s FA Cup semi-finals with a 1-0 win over a battling Ipswich Town at the Goldstar Ground.

Two divisions separate the teams and it showed in the first half of the tie, with Olli Harder’s side in control in Felixstowe.

Hammers defender Lucy Parker came very close to breaking the deadlock when striking the crossbar, which almost gave the 2019 runners-up the ideal start.

The visitors did make the breakthrough just three minutes later though, when Lisa Evans got onto the end of a superb ball from Melisa Filis and smartly poked home past Sarah Quantrill to open the scoring.

Third tier Ipswich never gave up, and matched their top flight opponents for effort throughout the tie, but were only able to register one shot on target, as West Ham keeper Mackenzie Arnold had a quiet afternoon.

The Tractor Girls, who top the FA Women’s National League Southern Premier Division, were the lowest remaining team in the competition coming into the last eight.

They also have a phenomenal home record this season, scoring 62 goals, but they were unable to add to that list today.

The Barclays FA WSL team perhaps could have scored more from their 14 attempts, but in the end Evans’ goal proved to be enough, and they made it through to the Vitality Women’s FA Cup semi-finals for only the second time.

Harder and his team will find out their last four opponents on Monday.

To follow the action and sign up for The FA Player’s live Barclays FA Women’s Super League coverage visit womenscompetitions.thefa.com

Ipswich (3-4-1-2) – Sarah Quantrill; Summer Hughes, Paige Peake, Olivia Smith; Abbie Lafayette, Anna Grey, Bonnie Horwood, Kyra Robertson; Lucy O’Brien; Zoe Barratt, Natasha Thomas

Substitutes: Lucy Egan for Grey 45, Silvana Flores for Horwood 59’, Eloise King for Robertson 60’, Sarah Brasero-Carreira for Thomas 73’, Maddie Biggs for Barratt 79’

Unused substitues: Leonie Jackson, Maria Boswell, Eva Hubbard, Issy Bryant

West Ham United (5-3-2) – Mackenzie Arnold; Lois Joel, Grace Fisk, Lucy Parker, Hawa Cissoko, Zaneta Wyne; Abbey-Leigh Stringer, Mel Filis, Halle Houssein; Claudia Walker, Lisa Evans

Substitutes: Yui Hasegawa for Filis 67’, Dagny Brynjarsdottir for Joel 67’, Tameka Yallop for Houssein 74’, Gilly Flaherty for Cissoko 75’, Kate Longhurst for Evans 90’

Unused substitutes: Anna Jessica Leat, Katerina Svitkova, Adriana Leon, Chloe Garrard

Goals: Evans 32’

Referee: Amy Fearns

Attendance: 2,000