Manchester United Women had a second consecutive draw in the League Cup this season where they were held by Durham to a 2-2 scoreline after ninety minutes and then subsequently losing out in the penalty shootout to claim the bonus point.
The Reds were hoping to come into this game to reverse their fortunes from the opening game of the competition. We had previously drawn against Aston Villa and lost on penalties too.
A balanced first half
The first 45 minutes saw a balanced affair between both teams. Each other were feeling their way into the game within the first few minutes. United were the first with the opportunity on goal.
The ball entered the path of Vilde Bøe Risa, who cleverly back heeled it, which found Rachel Williams but unfortunately her shot went wide.
As the Reds continued to be dominant causing pressure for the opposition, the breakthrough came in the 22nd minute. Durham were unable to clear United’s long throw into the box. The ball fell to Jade Moore who hit a first time volley with her effort going into the back of the net to give us the lead.
Despite us having control of the game, Durham struck back before half time to level it up going into the break. Beth Hepple hit a free kick into the box and the ball fell to Jess Clarke who made no mistake in converting her chance to equalise for the home side.
United failed to capitalise
As the second half preceded, it was again a balanced affair much like the first half. Both teams were looking for that goal to put them into the lead.
There were a handful of chances for both sides that saw the goalkeepers keeping the game level at 1-1. United’s second goal of the match came out of nowhere. A long pass forward came in front of Vilde Bøe Risa who reacted quickly to put the ball over the keeper’s head and into the net.
The opposition continued to attack us in search of another equaliser. They were rewarded when Sarah Robson with the last kick of the game scrambled the ball home to level, sending it to a penalty shootout.
For the second time this season in the competition, it was not meant to be for the Reds as we missed three out of the four penalties with Durham converting three penalties to claim the bonus point.
United currently sit third in Group A of the competition and now look to get back to winning ways with an away trip to Everton on Sunday in the Women’s Super League.