Brighouse Town set for plum Sunderland tie after brushing aside Farsley Celtic in Women's FA Cup

Brighouse Town Women secured a mouthing-watering home tie against Championship side Sunderland in the Vitality Women's FA Cup after an 8-0 demolition of a spirited Farsley Celtic side on Sunday.
Cara Fields scored twice for Brighouse Town Women in the win over Farsley Celtic. Picture: Ray SpencerCara Fields scored twice for Brighouse Town Women in the win over Farsley Celtic. Picture: Ray Spencer
Cara Fields scored twice for Brighouse Town Women in the win over Farsley Celtic. Picture: Ray Spencer

Four goals from in-form Leah Embley and a brace from Cara Fields and Amy Woodruff capped a ruthless performance against a side who play two tiers below Brighouse.

Brighouse’s reward for the win is a third round match at home this Sunday against Sunderland at the the Yorkshire Payments Stadium.

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Sunday’s game with Farsley Celtic should have been played a week earlier but was postponed because of a frozen pitch and the conditions weren’t much warmer on Sunday.

After a cagey opening 30 minutes Embley rifled in a 20-yard shot beyond the visitors’ goalkeeper Aimee Routledge to break the deadlock.

The goal settled the home team down and player-of-the-match Fields added two more goals before half-time to make it 3-0 at the break.

The first was a thunderous effort into the top corner from 25 yards on 35 minutes after a sublime piece of skill and the second was a dipping free-kick after 41 minutes from outside the box after a foul on Drew Greene.

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Fields could have completed a hat-trick straight after the restart but was denied by a one-on-one save by Routledge.

Woodruff, who came on as a first half sub for the injured Chrysa Tsakiri, made it 4-0 with a sharp turn and finish after 49 minutes following an assist from the unstoppable Fields.

Manager Rob Mitchell brought on his remaining substitutes Molly Havard and Monique Watson for Kayleign Bamforth and Danielle Whitham but there was no let-up in their attacking play.

On 72 minutes Embley made it 5-0 after reacting quickest when Woodruff’s shot hit the underside of the bar.

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With seven minutes left on the clock the same two combined again after a cheeky back heel from Watson to make it 6-0 as Embley rifled in her second consecutive hat-trick with an unstoppable shot into the roof of the net.

As the clock ticked down Embley added a fourth from close range after 86 minutes following good work down the byline by Sophie John and then Woodruff grabbed her second and Brighouse’s eighth in injury time after more good work by playmaker Fields.

The final scoreline was tough on Farsley Celtic, whose attacking threat was nullified by an impressive Brighouse defence.

Manager Rob Mitchell said: “It was a ruthless display. Farsley Celtic worked really hard, especially in the first half, but we scored some fantastic goals.

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“I don’t like to single anyone out because there were fantastic displays all over the pitch but I was delighted to see Leah Embley continue her rich vein of form with four goals and Amy Woodruff provided a real cutting edge when she came on.

“I thought Care Fields was excellent, not just for the two goals but the all-round contribution.

“We know Sunderland will be a really tough test but we’re looking forward to the challenge and we’ll work hard in training all week."