Sheffield Wednesday Ladies reach cup semifinal courtesy of wonderstrike

Kieron Lee’s side faced off against a familiar opposition as they came up against Kiveton for the fourth time this campaign, and with the latter of the quartet ending in a six-goal draw it was clear that The Jubilee was going to host a fully entertaining clash between the two sides.

The two sides would be looking to Amy Broomhead and Sky Hughes, who top the scoring charts for Wednesday and Kiveton respectively, and between them they have already accumulated a whopping 57 goals this season.

Hughes' threat to Lee’s back four was obvious, and was one which saw him make a slight change in defence as Imogen Yeardley moved back into midfield and Molly Wilde returned to the squad to partner Lucy Poskitt at the back. 

The only other change to the side was Kelsey Spink-Robinson, who got a start on the right flank having not played for her junior side this weekend as a result of their game called off - it was a bold choice for the Owls to make, with attacking options Sadie Hooper and Izzy Rundle dropped out of the XI completely.

Kiveton sprang out of the traps early and managed to sneak ahead in the opening minutes after they managed to find a yard of space down the left flank. A ball was swung into midfielder Sara Tyler, who connected to it with a shot that pinged off the inside of the post and past Wednesday keeper Kirsty Tonner. 1-0 to the visitors.

But despite the early set-back Wednesday responded quickly, and it was captain, Eleanor Vessey, who provided the spark down the left. She delivered a brilliant ball into the corridor of uncertainty as she looked to find Spink-Robinson, and the youngster was a whisker away from being able to make contact and send it goalwards.

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They nearly had a mountain to climb shortly after, though, as Tonner was called into action from a 20-yard-strike - thankfully it was met by some brilliant reflexes by the shot-stopper, and the deficit remained just the one goal. At the other end Wednesday kept pushing, and Vessey was causing havoc down the left - she managed to connect well with a strike as she looked the beat the keeper on her near side, but she could only hit the side-netting.

On the brink of half-time the game was turned on its head as - like a salmon out of water - Renée Simmonite-Scott leaped for a header off a Heidi O’Reilly corner, managing to steer it past the Kiveton keeper and in the back of the net. 1-1, and the goal was crucial as it saw Wednesday enter the interval on level terms.

The visitors were visibly affected by the Wednesday goal, and they’d lost their attacking sting. The Owlesses, on the other hand, were doing everything to try and find a winning goal. And it came eventually after they'd kept knocking on the door, Simmonite-Scott proving to be the hero again as she ignited a fiery strike into the roof of the net from 25-yards-out to send the home side into jubilation. Almost a carbon-copy of her first goal last weekend against Handsworth, it was one to be admired as few keepers in the league would have managed to fend away the ferocious finish.

Wednesday weren’t done there either, and after substitute, Sadie Hooper, managed find some space down the right she bought herself enough time to take a touch and - with fine composure - found the back of the net with a lovely strike.

By this point Kiveton looked simply gassed out, and there weren’t many signs of a late comeback, leaving the game to fizzle out in a 3-1 victory for Wednesday Ladies. The result means that they proceed to the semifinal of the SHWGL Cup, putting them in the final four in search of silverware.

Their next fixture, meanwhile, will come against Brinsworth Whitehill Women in the league as they look to close the gap on table-toppers Brunsmeer Athletic, with that fixture set to take place on Sunday afternoon at 2pm.