Curzon Ashton knock Bury out of the WFA Cup after a clinical display from the visiting side.

The first few minutes of the game saw a great chance for Curzon Ashton to break the deadlock, as the ball was squared into the box and just fired over the bar by their left-winger. The visiting side then began to have a barrage of chances both inside and outside of the box in the early stages of the game. However, a fantastically whipped corner from Harding on the right-hand side saw the Curzon Ashton defence scrambling on the line to get the ball clear after a good header from Dawkes.

Curzon’s early dominance was eventually rewarded in the 23^rd minute after a line-breaking through ball found Young who rifled the ball over Groves’ head from close range into the back of the net. Bury then had no answer for Curzon’s constant attacking intent as they continued to have testing shots for Groves to deal with. Fantastic team play from the visitors saw Young provide Forster with a lay-off at the edge of the box which was then rifled into the top right corner, leaving The Shakers scratching their heads as to how they could have stopped that.

More of the same continued as Groves was kept busy and only just managed to keep a 3^rd from going in as she parried two shots away from the Curzon attack. The relentless pressure was too much for Bury to handle as clever footwork from Beckford in the box followed by a strike into the bottom left corner saw Curzon’s 3^rd goal of the game in the 42^nd minute.

The 1^st half ended with an undoubtedly disappointed Shakers side going in at the break who would be looking for a plan to counteract Curzon Ashton’s great attacking play.

In the 2^nd half Bury clearly started to nullify Curzon’s attacks as the chances were limited for both sides with the Shakers showing a much more solid defensive display. Nevertheless, Young was put through on goal again after another accurate through ball which saw her 1-on-1 with Groves who was unable to stop the striker from earning her 2^nd goal of the game. Possible questions of offside were raised by the Bury defence over Young’s forward run but the linesman and referee saw nothing wrong with it and decided to award the goal, making it 0-4.

Curzon then continued their pressure from the first half as great teamplay created even more chances for The Nashettes. In the 73^rd minute, Bancroft received the ball in the box and then put it across to McCoy who slotted it home to give Curzon their 5^th goal of the game.

Goalscoring opportunities then began to slow down after McCoy’s strike, as Bury tightened up their defensive structure. The game came to a close with Curzon beating Bury by 5 on the day.

Unfortunately, this loss means that The Shakers have been knocked out of the WFA Cup, but the team will look ahead for their next league fixture against Wythenshawe Women FC on the 29^th September.