Mayani's strike not enough as Maidenhead United Women suffer last-gasp FA Cup exit

Maidenhead United Women suffered a heart-breaking exit from the Women’s FA Cup on Sunday as Megan Gates long-range effort from well outside the box lobbed the backpedalling Mia Smith to earn Worthing a 2-1 win at York Road.

United were the better side for spells of this match and looked the more likely winners after substitute Amelie Mayani ran through to score with her very first touch in the 72nd minute.

She’d been on the field a matter of seconds after replacing Molly McKeever when she raced onto a through ball from Megan Harper and coolly slotted the ball beyond the Worthing keeper.

Before that the Rebels had taken the lead against the run of play when Jasmine Smith scored from the penalty spot in the 51st minute after one of the Worthing players was bundled over from behind in the box.

Chances came and went for Izzy Stockton, who fired wide of the post, and Megan Harper, who saw a long-range effort pushed over by the Worthing keeper.

But there was a cruel late twist in the tail for the Magpies when Gates chanced her arm from well outside of the area after the ball rebounded to her from a free kick and her shot looped over a despairing Smith in the 93rd minute.

Speaking to club media after Sunday’s defeat, Mayani reflected: “I got called over and told I’m going to go on. And basically within 30-35 seconds I had the ball in the back of the net with my first touch of the game. I remember seeing a gap between the centre-back and left-back and I curved my run, stayed onside.

“Meg spotted the gap and my run, and she played a perfect ball through, and yeah first touch of the game, just inside the penalty box I slotted it through the keeper’s legs and into the back of the net. It’s something we’ve worked on in training and it’s nice to see it pay off. I can’t really remember the feeling; it was just one of happiness and a bit of shock to be honest. It’s a great feeling scoring and especially being 1-0 down at the time, so getting the equalising goal so quick after being bought on is just…. yeah!”

She added: “Obviously we didn’t have the performance we hoped for and didn’t get the score we wanted.

“However, on a personal note it’s always great to get a goal and help the team out and it’s the first time I’ve played in the FA Cup.”

Having taken her chance to impress on Sunday, Mayani is now pushing to be involved from the start when the Magpies visit FAWNL Division 1 South West front-runners Moneyfields this Sunday (October 12).

Moneyfields sit second in the table, a couple of points behind leaders Swindon Town. Their three-match winning streak in all competitions was ended by Sunday’s 4-0 FA Cup defeat at Fulham Women.

The Magpies have now gone five matches without a win in all competitions and have lost their last three. Heavy cup defeats to AFC Wimbledon (6-1) and the Chelsea Academy (7-1) have also dented confidence after a positive start to the campaign.

“It’s been good having Dave (Kitson) and Sean (Hillier) in charge,” said Mayani.

“They’ve bought a new level and drive to the team which has set our standards higher of one what we expect from ourselves and in the games we play.”