Sunderland Ladies are through to the last eight of the FA Women's Cup after a 2-0 success over Yeovil Town Ladies.

One of the pre-season favourites for promotion to the top flight, WSL 2 outfit Yeovil were never going to be an easy opponent for the Black Cats, but a second half brace from Brooke Chaplen saw them brush off the Lady Glovers.

Tight first half before Sunderland take the win

Carlton Fairweather's side were expecting a tough game, and they got that in the first half as both teams came close to opening the scoring.

Beth Mead, last season's WSL 1 top scorer, twice found herself the recipient of great chances, but she was denied by goalkeeper Charlotte Haynes on both occasions as the lead evaded the visitors.

Yeovil too came close, with Ellie Curson seeing her curling free-kick strike the post, but it was the Lady Black Cats who broke the deadlock when Chaplen converted the rebound of her saved shot on 67 minutes.

Shortly after, a darting run by Mead ended with the striker teeing up her teammate to bag her brace and put the result beyond doubt.

Chaplen already eyeing up Wembley occasion

Speaking to Sunderland Ladies' official website after the game, match-winner Chaplen was extremely positive about the result and the potential of going all the way in the competition.

"It’s a good thing to think that we are only a couple of games from Wembley," she said. 

The midfielder continued, saying that Sunderland "knew it was going to be a tough game" and "it was," but she believes the team "matched [Yeovil] with [their] desire" and got the goals that "takes [them] closer to the final."

"We've played a few friendlies so far...but competitive football is different," Chaplen added as the Lady Black Cats prepare to kick off their FAWSL campaign this week.

In terms of the league, she thinks that last year Sunderland followed up "some really good performances" with "some really poor performances," and so this year's "main goal" is to be "more consistent."

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About the author
Ameé Ruszkai
Head of the Sunderland, Swansea City and women football sections at VAVEL UK. Email: [email protected]