Huddersfield Town Women player ratings from shootout victory over Doncaster Rovers Belles
Town had to go through the lottery of penalties to keep their hopes of retaining their County Cup title alive after a 1-1 draw
Lauren Joyce - 8
Not much to do in the first half but dealt with it will. Mistake for the Belles equaliser after being done by the bounce but made up for it with two great saves in the shootout to help her side through.
Beth Stanfield - 6
Controlled the back line well throughout and wasn’t really troubled.
Beth Ibbotson - 6
Very rarely troubled but dealt with most things down her side. Should have scored but put a crashing header just wide of the post at 1-1.
Serena Fletcher - 8
Probably Town’s biggest attacking threat down the right. Put two wonderful crosses on a plate for Mallin and Astle late on.
Ella Duffield- 7
Ran the game from the middle of the park when Town could get hold of it and play. Tricky conditions on a touch pitch but the midfielder battled well throughout. Scored the winning penalty to send Town through.
Autumn Housley - 7
Similar to Duffield, Housley battled well. Her sublime effort to initially keep the Belles goal out was ultimately in vain as it was bundled home at the second attempt. Dropped into the back line after Stanfield being substituted.
Caz Simone - 7
An up and down game for Simone who’s wonderful lobbed effort put Town ahead. They came under a lot of attention from the Belles midfield and picked up a booking on the stroke of half time.
Rebecca Beresford - 6
Solid game on the left but like most of the attacking players in the game, struggled to get hold of the ball in the final third.
Scarlett McMahon - 6
Held the ball up well early on but struggled to link up with teammates on a tricky pitch.
Ashley Tiripke - 6
Started brightly with a few half chances from the edge of the box but faded. Linked up well with Firth at times but couldn’t find the breakthrough.
Molly Firth - 6
Caused a few problems for the hosts alongside Fletcher down the right but it wasn’t a game for many attacking players to shine through.
Substitutes
Kate Mallin (for Firth ‘69) – A couple of good set pieces caused problems and missed a glorious chance to win it in injury time but sent the ball over from 6 yards. 6
Fliss Jones (for Tiripke ‘69) – Didn’t have much chance to impact the game. Stuck her penalty away 6
Katie Astle (for McMahon ‘69) – Missed an open goal to win the game and dragged her penalty wide in the shootout. Not her day. 5
Yasmin Mason (for Stanfield ‘69) – Got in behind a few times as the game went a bit end-to-end as both teams looked to avoid penalties but nothing came to fruition. 6