10-goal thriller as the Bees seal the victory over Haringey Borough and progress to the next round of the cup.
The London Bees booked their place in the next round of the Combined Counties Cup with a thrilling 7–3 victory away to Haringey Borough.
From the first whistle, the Bees started on the front foot, creating early chances as they looked to take control of the tie.
Their pressure paid off just eight minutes in when Hayley Hoare opened the scoring with a superb free kick, delicately lifting the ball over the goalkeeper to give the Bees the lead.
The hosts responded well, however, and soon found an equaliser after a well-worked move from the back created space for a Haringey attacker to run through and finish.
Sandra Martins restored the Bees’ advantage after capitalising on a poor back pass from the Haringey defence, pressing high and finishing confidently.
Once again, Haringey hit back just before half-time, finding the net to draw level for the second time in an entertaining first half.
But the Bees had the final say before the break. Lily Whitelock surged down the right, cut inside and unleashed a perfectly placed strike into the top-left corner to put the Bees ahead at half-time.
Half-time: Haringey Borough 2–3 London Bees
Dan McKimm’s side picked up exactly where they left off after the restart. Five minutes into the second half, Martins grabbed her second of the match, meeting a through ball from Isla Callison and calmly placing it into the bottom-right corner.
Moments later, Martins completed her hat-trick, rising highest to head home the rebound after Whitelock’s initial effort had been saved.
The goals kept coming as the Bees struck again soon after. Following a scramble in the box, Whitelock reacted quickest to tap the ball under the goalkeeper and claim her second goal of the match.
Haringey pulled one back just after the hour mark with a stunning finish into the top corner, but the Bees remained firmly in control of proceedings.
With fifteen minutes remaining, Betty Larkin added her name to the scoresheet, finding space inside the box and placing her effort past the goalkeeper to make it seven for the visitors.
Late on, the referee briefly halted play to send Megan Burrows to the sin bin, but the outcome was already decided.
Moments later, the full-time whistle confirmed an emphatic victory for the Bees, who progress to the next round of the Combined Counties Cup in style.
Full-Time: Haringey Borough 3-7 London Bees
Lineup: Roberts, Martins, Burrows, Vigo, Larkin, Davidson, Hoare (Durn 84′), Richards (Heil 84′), Whitelock (Lanza 62′), Callison, Doolan
Goals: Hoare (8′), Martins (13′, 51′, 58′), Whitelock (45+1′, 61′), Larkin (75′)