Sheffield Wednesday LFC 2 v 1 Rotherham UtdLadies
THE MILLERS were left ruing missed chances in a dominant first half as they exited the County Cup in the third round at the hands of local rivals Wednesday.
Prolific forward pairing Kerry Longstone and Suzanne Davies pepper the target on a number of occasions inside the first 15 minutes, shellshocking Wednesday and forcing them onto the back foot.
Camped in The Owls' half for much of the opening period, Rotherham had multiple chances to open the scoring but were frustrated at every turn and the sides headed into the break still level.
The Millers emerged for the second half in similar fashion and Longstone saw an excellent effort saved by the keeper after receiving a cross from Davies.
Disaster struck on the hour as Wednesday intercepted a slack Rotherham throw and played a long ball over the top of the defence leaving the forward one-on-one with Charlie Whiteley in goal.
Despite the Rotherham keeper's attempts to narrow the angle, the striker slotted home with a low effort.
The goal lifted The Owls and made the task difficult for Rotherham but they continued to press for the goal.
Several attempts from the Millers flew past the post.
As Rotherham surged forward for a way back into the game, Wednesday dealt the killer blow five minutes from time as they broke out of defence, hoisted a long ball forward to the grateful striker to smash into the top of the goal.
Undeterred, Rotherham continued the push and Longstone got her name on the scoresheet when she received the ball around 25 yards from goal and audaciously chipped the keeper.
Wednesday played keep-ball to see out the final seconds and advance to the next round.
All important league matters are now the only focus for The Millers and next weekend they face possibly their biggest game of the season when they meet bottom club Crewe on Sunday.
A win at Crewe would leave the Cheshire side with a near-insurmountable obstacle in the battle to avoid relegation and leave one spot in the drop zone open.
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