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London City Lionesses punched their ticket to the fourth round of the Adobe Women’s FA Cup by seeing off Billericay Town 6-0 at Princes Park on Sunday [10 December].
While the Blues created the first major chance of the afternoon, with Georgia Brougham forced into an early goal-line clearance, Carolina Morace’s side quickly found their footing and produced a dominant performance over their National League rivals.
Danielle Carter opened the scoring in the 19th minute, sending a curling effort beyond the reach of Alex Baker and into the top corner of Billericay Town’s net from the edge of the penalty area.
Niamh Farrelly doubled the Pride’s advantage just after the half hour mark, deflecting a driven cross from Ruesha Littlejohn over the line at the far post following a corner routine.
After the break, the floodgates opened for the home side.
London-born Carter doubled her tally for the afternoon from the penalty spot, before Lucy Fitzgerald, Tinaya Alexander, and Georgia Brougham each added their names to the scoresheet in the final half an hour.
“I think the most important thing today was that we couldn’t approach the game with arrogance,” explained Morace post-match, “we respect everyone and the players committed fully today, which I am pleased with.
“Maybe we could have scored some more goals, but I think we also kept control and our work rate was very good.
“I’m very pleased with everyone’s performance today. Connie [Scofield], Lois [Joel], and Dan always play with some physical problem, they are often not one hundred percent, but they have the personality to keep going for the team. Overall, I am very pleased.”
It was also an afternoon to remember for academy prospect Grace Jarrett, who replaced Izzy Groves in the 60th minute to make her professional debut.
Speaking after the match, Jarrett revealed that it was a childhood dream to play in the FA Cup alongside Carter.
“I’m really buzzing about the whole thing,” the Englishwoman explained.
“When I was little, I watched Danielle Carter score in an FA Cup final and now I’ve played with her. It’s a dream come true [to make my debut in this game] because I was always a huge fan of hers.
“I was surprised that I came on with a decent amount of time left, so I’m really happy that I had the chance to affect the game as a substitute.”
Jarrett was later joined on the field by fellow academy player Olivia Fraser, who made her senior debut in the Barclays Women’s Championship earlier this season.
Hermione Cull made her first appearance since the final game of the previous campaign, backstopping the team to a well-earned clean sheet.
London City will feature in the fourth round draw live on Instagram at 9:30am on Tuesday, 12 December.