Teenage forward Ede Buchele came off the bench to bag a brace that beat Herne Bay and steered Fulham Women into the next round of the League Cup at Motspur Park this afternoon.
The Whites initially made heavy weather of overcoming their Kent-based opposition, sitting off the visitors in possession and failing to be ruthless in the final third. Ellie Olds drew a fine early save, but the hosts had to wait until midway through the first half to go in front. The lively Georgia Heasman was clipped inside the area as she embarked on a trademark right down the right flank and Tia Foreman made no mistake from twelve yards – placing her penalty perfectly in the bottom corner.
Enlivened by several substitutions at half time, Fulham were much more assertive after the interval. Buchele, who netted a hat-trick against Acorns earlier in the season, took only ten minutes to get on the scoresheet – keeping his composure impressively to pick her spot from inside the area after Olds had seen a shot blocked. The youngster nearly scored a second ten minutes later when she raced onto a brilliant ball down the left by Lauren Armstrong and battered the near post with a blistering strike.
Buchele did make it three in the last minute of normal time when she finished emphatically from outside the box after excellent approach work from Helen Ogle. Holly Cowan kept a clean sheet in the absence of the injured Edie Kelly, surviving only one nervy moment when she took her instructions to sweep up behind her defence a little too literally and Becky Stormer had to clear a Herne Bay shot off the line.
Fulham are in FA Cup action next weekend – with a tough tie against Watford at Grosvenor Vale in Ruislip, with kick off at 1pm.
FULHAM WOMEN (4-3-3): Cowan; Mendes, Modak, Stormer, Southgate; McNee, Foreman, Konan; Heasman, Ogle, Olds. Subs: Allen, Armstrong, Buchele, Harris-Walters, Hayman.
GOALS: Foreman (pen 26), Buchele (56, 89).
