Goalkeeper Tegan Barnes was the hero on Sunday, as she saved three penalties in a shoot-out to send Wimborne Town through to the Third Qualifying Round of the Adobe Women’s FA Cup. Tied 1-1 at full-time after a hard battle with their Dorset rivals Shaftesbury, Wimborne progressed 3-0 on penalties after Barnes saved every spot kick she faced. The winners now travel to Devon where they will play Feniton for a place in the First Round draw.
Both teams play in Southern Region Division One South, with Shaftesbury being promoted as last season’s Dorset League champions to follow in the footsteps of Wimborne from the previous year, but this is Wimborne’s first venture into the Women’s FA Cup.
The game, played at Wimborne’s Wyatt Homes Stadium, was hard fought throughout, though the home side probably had the better of the chances. They took the lead right at the end of first half injury time, with Sheree Bell-Jack’s shot from the right wing evading the Shaftesbury keeper under pressure from Lucy Roberts.
For much of the second half it looked like that single goal would be enough, but just before the 90 minutes were up Shaftesbury’s star striker Nikki Castle lashed in an equaliser from the edge of the penalty area to take the game to penalties. Jess Boyle, Freya Patton and Jess Selby all converted from the spot for Wimborne which, combined with Barnes’ heroics, was enough to see them progress.
We were fortunate to have photographer Ian Middlebrook on hand to capture the action.
