BLUES WOMEN HIT EIGHT OF THE BEST TO END BRAVE CHATHAM TOWNS CUP RUN

Blues Women have reached the Adobe Women’s FA Cup Quarter Finals for the first time since 2023 when we lost to Amy Merricks Brighton Side. Blues Oceane Hurtre was the star of the show picking up the player of the match and scoring a brilliant hat trick. But this day belongs to Chatham Town Women and Manager Keith Boanas who was so proud of his team at the end of the match and the players will never forget this moment. Amy gave a debut to Hannah Silcock also in the back line came in Michaela Kovacs and Lee Geum-Min back in the line up.

FIRST HALF

The first chance of the game came for Blues when Oceane Hurtre broke free of defence and her shot went wide of the post.

The next chance of the game came for Blues following a corner who Lucy Quinn drive the ball to Hurtre whose shot whose shot goes over the bar in the 3^rd minute.

Hurtre had a brilliant runs towards the box and her shot was well saved by Simone Eligon in the 6^th minute.

In the 10^th minute a great ball form Rebecca Holloway who put in Lee Guim-Min and her shot was well saved from Simone Eligon in the 10^th minute.

Chatham Town first chance came in the 20^th when Ellie Jeffkins right footed shot from outside the box is high and wide to the right following a set piece situation.

Then in the 21^th minute Blues almost took the league when an Oceane Hurtre rebounded to Sarri whose effort rebounded of the crossbar so unlucky.

But Blues did took the league in the 26^th when a Oceane Hurtre cross come shot went into the back of the net and Blues got a deserved lead.

The only thing that was notable before the break was the injury of Christie Harrison-Murray and she was replaced by the experience Shanade Hopcroft in the 32^nd minute.

HALF TIME BLUES WOMEN 1-0 CHATHAM TOWN WOMEN

SECOND HALF

The first chance of the second half came for Blues when a Lee Geum-Min shot was saved from Simone Eligon in the 46^th minute.

Then in the 51^st minute a Shanade Hopcroft right footed shot from the centre of the box is saved in the top centre of the goal by Simone Eligon.

Then Ellie Jeffkins for Chatham Town Women had a right footed shot from more than 35 yards is close, but misses to the right hand post also in the 51st minute.

Then another chance for Lee Geum-Min when Lucy Quinn played it to her but her shot went over the bar in the 52^nd minute.

But Blues Women doubled the league when Lucy Quinn cross was tapped home from Veatriki Sarri in the 53^rd minute.

The provided Lucy Quinn could have gotten on the scoresheet to but a wonderful save from Simone Eligon tipped it onto the crossbar away for a corner in the 59^th minute.

Then in the 60^th minute Blues scored there third when Chatham Town were playing out from the back and Oceane Hurtre capitalised on it and tapped it home.

The tiredness of Chatham Town was beginning to show and in the 64^th minute substitute Batcheba Louis got on the scoresheet to when she started the move with a ball to Lucy Quinn from outside of her foot Quinny then play it back Louis pass a Chatham player and fired it pass Simone Eligon to make it 4-0 a great goal.

A minute later Louis could have made it a brace when her right footed shot from the left side of the six yard box was saved in the centre of the goal by Simone Eligon.

The next Chatham Town chance came in the 67^th minute when Otesha Charles right footed shot was saved in the centre of the goal by Lucy Thomas.

But in the 68th minute the player of the match Oceane Hurtre did a repeat of what she done in the first half when Sarri played her on the wing and rifled it in off the post an amazing hat trick.

Then two minutes later it was 6-0 and finally Lee Geum-Min gets on the score when Chatham Town couldn’t cleared the lines it came to Lee who smashed it into the net.

The next chance came in the 74^th minute when Neve Herron left footed shot from the right side of the box goes over the bar.

Blues next chance was a free kick which Veatriki Sarri took but it went over the bar.

But in the 76^th minute Blues made it a magnificent seven when Shanade Hopcroft played it into Wilma Leidhammar & her shot from outside the box found the bottom right corner.

In the 82^nd minute a ball from Asato Miyagawa played in Rebecca McKenna her right footed shot from the right side of the box is close, but misses to the right hand post.

In the 89^th minute Blues made it eight when a poor goal kick from Simone Eligon went straight to Batcheba Louis who rounded Eligon and tapped it home.

The last chance of the game was in stoppage time when a Veatriki Sarri effort was blocked.

FULL TIME BLUES WOMEN 8-0 CHATHAM TOWN WOMEN

MY THOUGHTS ON THE GAME

Blues Women made it a comfortable night even dough at half time it was 1-0 to the Blues but Blues in the second half made it a comfortable night at StAndrews@KnightheadPark but the star of the show was Oceane Hurtre who scored that hat-trick and we hope to see more performance like that after the International break. Also what was good to see that we did see on a extend on Monday night that we change the shape we started on Saturday with a 4-3-3 but at half time we change to a 3-5-2 and replaced Michaela Kovacs who is still founding her feet in a Blues shirt and at times looked nervous and could have given a penalty away and at half time Neve Herron came on and we looked more comfortable in are shape with a back three of Herron, Cooke, and Silcock who herself had a decent debut. And we are into the quarter finals the first time since 2023 when we lost to Brighton under now Blues Head Coach Amy Merricks 0-2 . And if you listened to the gaffers interview on TNT that she wants to win both the league & FA Cup which I do like to see but there is plenty of work to do in both competitions.

But we have to talk about Chatham Town Women FC & there magnificent job that Keith Boanas has done with the club there still have an outside chance of getting promoted there are in third place in the league and are still in some cup competitions the players should be so proud of themselves especially in the first half and especially a brilliant display from Chatham’s goalkeeper Simone Eligon’s with her saves prevented double figures. And overall, Chatham earn a brilliant £127k from their cup run an amazing achievement.

MY PLAYER OF THE MATCH

I have to go for Oceane Hurtre her best performance in a Birmingham City Women’s shirt scoring two outstanding goals out on the wing and capitalised on some poor play in the back line and fully deserved her player of the match well done Oceane.