Sheffield Wednesday Ladies were undone late on in the FA Cup as they lost 5-3 to Oughtibridge War Memorial FC Women.

The Owlesses were looking to put together an FA Cup run this season to put the disappointment of the 2023/24 cup run behind them, which prematurely ended against Kiveton Park at the first hurdle, and fellow NERWFL side, Oughtibridge, stood in their way as both sides looked to make it to the Third Qualifying Round.

With head coach Kieron Lee yet again absent, Andy Gilligan took charge as he made four changes - Romy Lee, Amber Bilous, Rachel Norsworthy and Heidi O’Reilly all made way, with Jess Birtles, Eleanor Vessey, Lily-May Jackson and Maisie Brennan coming in - the latter two getting their first start for Wednesday Ladies.

The FA Cup clash started very end-to-end, with Amy Broomhead getting plenty of action early on, linking up well with Nicole Shaw. However, no chances came to fruition with the Oughtibridge defence putting in a resolute performance from the get-go. Wednesday Ladies tried to beat the home side’s offside trap, however the weather was playing havoc with the pitch conditions, meaning the attempted through balls to both Shaw and Broomhead ended up a yard or two in front of the attacking pair.

Eventually the game tightened up,and Kirsty Tonner was tested between the sticks for the Owlesses for the first time on 30 minutes - but an audacious shot from 25 yards was matched by a tip over the bar from the Wednesday keeper... The lack of action continued towards the interval, though that did mean that Gilligan’s side had built on the previous two games where they went into the interval with a deficit to overcome. There had been little threat the way of Oughtibridge, and the Owls backline were resolute when needed.

The second half started incredibly brightly for the Owlesses, with Harriet Lloyd perfectly striking the ball from the right and 35-yards out after she spotted the Oughtibridge shot-stopper off her line, putting Wednesday in a lead for the first time of the 2024/25 campaign. And things got even better for Wednesday Ladies as Broomhead netted her third goal of the campaign, doing so in as many games, after she capitalised on a mistake from the home goalkeeper.

Things looked to be smooth-sailing for the Owlesses at this point, however tensions were starting to boil over following several big challenges, and the tide turned as Oughtibridge managed to pull one back - it was at this moment the momentum swung into the home side’s favour. And it didn’t take long for them to bring it back to level terms.

The flared tempers looked to have got the better of Wednesday Ladies after the quick successive goals for Oughtibridge, however a moment of brilliance from Shaw, who was able to knock it low and out of the reach of the Oughtibridge goalkeeper, got the Owlesses back in front.

Oughtibridge weren’t behind for long though, and once again they managed to level things up, making it 3-3 with only minutes to go. For the visitors it was a difficult task at this moment to keep their heads up, the momentum fully swinging in Oughtibridge’s favour, and only moments later, the home side got themselves in front - they’d completed the turnaround.

All hopes of Gilligan’s side reaching the Third Qualifying Round had all but disappeared at that point, and matters were made worse as the home side got a fifth goal to give themselves a two-goal cushion, which would see them out until the end of the tie...

Yet again, there were moments of brilliance in the side and Gilligan’s decision to give Jackson a full 90 minutes certainly paid off, however issues on the defensive side meant that once again Wednesday Ladies bowed out of the cup at the first time of asking with a 5-3 defeat on their travels.

The Owlesses will have plenty of time to right-the-wrongs of the performance with no game this Sunday, however they will return to action on October 6th as they face a trip to Leeds Modernians.