Arsenal advance to FA Cup fifth round with comfortable victory over Watford | OneFootball

Arsenal are into the fifth round of this season’s Adobe Women’s FA Cup after defeating Watford 5-1 at Meadow Park this afternoon.

Barclays Women’s Championship strugglers Watford were hoping to pull off a huge upset in Borehamwood, however, it proved to be a task too difficult for The Golden Girls to achieve as Arsenal ran out comfortable winners.

Arsenal started the match strongly and Victoria Pelova let rip with an effort from the edge of the 18-yard box which stung the hands of Jacqui Goldsmid in the Watford goal. She wasn’t able to gather the ball safely and Alessia Russo raced in for a simple finish to put her side in front.

The Gunners then doubled their lead when the ball was fed to Lia Wälti on the edge of the penalty area. The Swiss international struck first time with a wonderful curling effort that nestled in the back of the net to double the advantage for the hosts.

It was more of the same in the second half with Arsenal asserting their dominance even further. Pelova threaded a through ball towards Beth Mead but the forward showed tremendous awareness to step over it and let it run through for Stina Blackstenius. The Swede had only been on the pitch for a matter of seconds before burying the ball with her first touch to put her team three goals to the good.

However, it wasn’t a flawless performance from The Gunners as they gifted a goal to their opponents, perhaps due to a lack of focus, thinking the game was all-but-won. As the hosts tried to play out from the back, Coral-Jade Haines pounced on the ball which found its way to Poppy Wilson who then laid it off for Michelle Agyemang. The forward, on loan from today’s opponents, would’ve been desperate to make a big impression but had been starved of service up until this point. Yet, she took her opportunity when it presented itself to her and got her name on the scoresheet.

Still, it was all for nothing as Arsenal came back even stronger. First, they restored their three-goal advantage thanks to a towering header from Amanda Ilestedt. That goal was swiftly followed by a calm finish from Frida Maanum after Watford had failed to clear a low cross, the midfielder slotting the ball into the bottom corner.

This afternoon’s victory means that Arsenal have put their name into the hat for the next round while Watford must now turn their focus to the unenviable task of securing their Barclays Women’s Championship status for another season.