Ladies progress to second round of League Cup

But win comes at a cost as skipper Barlow fractures wrist

ROYSTON Ladies progressed to the second round of the League Cup on Sunday with a battling performance against their Division One North opponents Huntingdon Town.

For the third week in a row Royston found themselves behind after only 10 minutes when Leanne Buchannan misjudged a defensive clearance and the ball went past her own goalkeeper and into the net.

Hunts continued to pressure the Royston defence and only good goalkeeping by Sanna Patterson kept them from increasing their lead.

Slowly Royston began to take the initiative and a sweeping move down the right spearheaded by Charlotte Foulger ended with Jenny Probert’s shot just clipping the crossbar. However, it was Probert who scored the equaliser on 35 minutes as she beat the offside trap before rounding the Hunts ‘keeper for a simple tap in.

After the break Royston were much the better side with both Foulger and Stacey Hassan using their pace to get behind the Hunts defence and an impressive piece of link-up play between the to should have given them the lead when great run and cross from Foulger saw Probert put the ball over the bat when it was easier to score.

It didn’t take long for her to make amends when, after a determined run inside the box, she pulled the ball back for Clare Ratty to smash the ball home.

With 20 minutes left Royston’s skipper Gemma Barlow fell awkwardly in a tackle and was taken to hospital where it was confirmed she had broken her wrist and faces up to six weeks on the sidelines.

Despite having to reorganise the defence, Royston managed to hold on for a hard earned victory.

Town’s manager Steve Buchanan said afterwards: “It was a difficult game but we stuck at it and got the result we deserved.”