North A League winners Birmingham crushed Edinburgh 1sts 8-1 on a windy Wednesday afternoon as they progressed to the Championship semi-finals.
Old Joe oversaw a battering as the Lionesses produced a spectacular attacking display to easily win their quarter-final. Their glittering campaign continues to go from strength to strength as they chase the double.
As a contest, the game was over with by half time. Birmingham came out the gates flying, teeing up the centre forward on the edge of the penalty circle, who clinically dispatched the ball into the bottom corner. Minutes later, a carbon copy move saw Birmingham double their lead as the Edinburgh defence were left rattled and disorganised.
Edinburgh held their line best they could following this early setback, however the relentless Lionesses’ pressure resulted in a scrappy goalmouth scramble that ultimately saw the ball ricochet into the net. 3-0 at half time and the game looked settled.
Birmingham weren’t done there however, stepping up their passing play to take control of possession early in the second half, forcing errors, and eventually increasing their lead from a well worked penalty corner. The ball found the midfielder on the edge of the penalty circle, who laid it off perfectly to the striker who drilled it low and fast into the goal. 4-0 now and Edinburgh collapsed.
Channelling their inner Guardiola, the Lionesses transcended into an attacking machine, slicing through Edinburgh like a hot knife through butter. A neat one-two down the left wing released the left forward through on goal. She kept her composure to burst around the keeper and slide a neat finish into the far corner. Following this, the Lionesses pounced on a mistake from the Edinburgh left defender to break through on goal, an impressive save from their keeper only serving to line up a tap in for Brum’s centre forward.
6-0 up now, a lapse in concentration allowed Edinburgh a rare break through. A swift counter following a turn-over of possession in midfield saw their centre forward dribble into the area and score with what may well have been their first shot on target of the game. A consolation goal, yet all it managed to do was stir up the Lionesses into retaliation.
Following a period of intense Birmingham pressure, the left forward produced goal of the game in a moment of magic. Her back to goal, she dummied a pass back out of the area and instead scooped the ball backwards without looking, burying it with scary precision into the top corner. A neat attacking move at the end of the game compounded Edinburgh’s misery by making the final score 8-1.
A day to forget for Edinburgh, but one to cherish for the incredible Lionesses; they move on to the semi-finals of a competition which, based on this performance, they stand a great chance of winning. All the best in the semi-final against Nottingham ladies!
