Norwich City Women have been knocked out of the FAWNL Plate after a 4-1 defeat to Crawley Wasps on Sunday, October 30.
Norwich’s early attempts of culminating an upset were rapidly rebuffed after the Canaries looked to cause problems, netting early on through Olivia Cook, but it wasn’t to be, as Crawley fought back to secure a 4-1 victory away from home.
Norwich burst out the blocks, catching Crawley on the counter attack early on, as Freya Symonds played an inch-perfect pass to put Cook through one-on-one, and the winger made no mistake inside two minutes.
The remainder of the half had City with their backs against the wall, as Bryony Williams making a catalogue of saves to keep the home side afloat.
The visitors eventually equalised through Amelia Ajao before the ten-minute mark and looked to build on this lead before the interval.
With just seconds to go before a half-time breather, Crawley scored what you could only call a much-deserved second through Selin Burukgiray, following a lovely sequence to break into the area and beat Williams with a confident finish.
The second half saw a similar bombardment from the visitors, experiencing their greatest joy from set-pieces. They first rattled the crossbar directly from a corner on the hour mark, before going one better eight minutes later and heading home for a third.
No less than four minutes later and Crawley had a fourth through Amelia Ajao, who bundled the ball in from yet another corner.
As the game neared conclusion, Norwich keeper, Bryony Williams was forced off the field with an injury in the 87th minute, forcing Megan Todd to don the goalkeeper gloves to close the game, making a fine save from a free kick late on.
The loss assures Norwich City Women’s exit from the competition.
They will return to league action on Sunday, November 6, when they face Ashford Town away from home.
Norwich City Starting XI: Williams, Johnston, Ward (Cooper 46), George (Snelling 46), Stanley, Knights, Harper (Parker 61), Symonds (Todd 66), Gooding, Cook (Gambell 61), Flye
HT: 1-2
FT: 1-4
Goal: Cook (2)