On Sunday Bradford City Women were at home in yet another cup game, this time against Harrogate Railway in the West Riding FA Cup. With the way City have been playing lately it was bound to be a good game and it certainly didn't disappoint as we saw City net a fair few goals to reach the next round of the West Riding FA Cup comfortably.
City started the game strong and had a fair few chance on goal however, they were just unable to get the ball in the back of the net. The chances kept on coming for City though and they eventually took the lead in the 8th minute when Hawkins put the Railway defender under some great pressure to win the ball back and get it across to Stuart who slotted the ball into the back of the net.
It looked like City were going to get their second not long after with the chances still coming thick and fast for the side however, the 'keeper kept Railway in it and a few other shots found the wrong side of the post. The second goal of the game went in City's favour in the 27th minute with Jakeman burying a strike in the roof of the net, she found herself in a great position and there really was no way of stopping the shot.
The game really was going all in City's favour however, Railway grabbed a goal back in the 33rd minute when a great ball from the midfield split the City defence and the Railway attacked slotted it home after a slight 1 on 1 situation with City's 'keeper. It didn't take long for City to extend their lead once again though as Stuart doubled her goal tally in the 37th minute with another great goal. In the 45th minute just before half time was called City managed to add another goal with Stuart getting her hat-trick after stealing the ball from the Railway defender before calmly slotting the ball home.
At half time City went into the dressing room 4-1 up and honestly showing no signs of slowing down. Hames made his only two substitutions of the game with Stuart and Hawkins coming off to be replaced by Norde & Thomas. City started the second half just as they ended the first with plenty of chances but again they were just unable to find the back of the net, the game could have had a bigger scoreline if it wasn't for the Railway 'keeper who saved quite a few City shots before eventually getting beaten again in the 61st minute when Jakeman got her second goal of the game after a 1 on 1 situation with the goalkeeper, the ball from Roberts to set Jakeman free was fantastic and perfectly placed to lead to the goal.
Just 3 minutes after the 5th goal City got their 6th goal of the game when a fantastically placed free kick from Roberts found the head of Woodcock who found the back of the net with the resulting header. The goal was just another sign of how well Roberts can take set pieces and find the perfect pass. In the 70th minute Jakeman finally got her hat-trick when the original shot from Norde was saved and landed at Jakeman's feet who calmly slotted the ball home.
The game ended 7-1 and it is safe to say City really dominated the game although on a few occasions they did let Railway slip past them however, other than the goal they scored they didn't seem too threatening. I really do believe the game could have gone into double figures though if it wasn't for the Railway goalkeeper who really did pull off some fantastic saves to stop some brilliant strikes from City.
Throughout the game City did really well with passes being linked up really well and space being created to get into some really dangerous positions. Once again though it was the right hand side that looked the strongest when Roberts and Hawkins were linking up really well together, they seem to be able to read each other really well and it helps create some great opportunities for the team.
When it comes to a player of the match pick it could have been a number of players as they stood out a lot making some great decisions throughout the game and really contributing towards City's win however, for both me and Liam our player of the match is Jakeman who worked hard throughout the full 90 minutes, grabbed herself a hat-trick and never looked like slowing down. She certainly covered a lot of ground throughout the game and had one of the best performances we have seen from her this season.
City are very comfortably into the next round of the cup and I am looking forward to seeing who we draw. Every week we are seeing some great improvements from City and I think today just summed it up with how they played and kept on pushing even when they were a few goals ahead.