Swindon Town Women have been crowned Wiltshire FA County Women’s Cup champions after a dominant 4-0 win over Purton Women at the County Ground.

Town took the game to Purton early on and had a number of near misses, first Katie Sherwood attempted an audacious effort to catch the goalkeeper off her line from the halfway line but her shot went narrowly over the bar before Holly Beck-Esson drove into the area only to be denied by the ‘keeper one-on-one.

The breakthrough came midway through the half as Beck-Esson again broke into the box down the left and this time made no mistake slotting beyond the goalkeeper.

Swindon continued to threaten but went in at the break with just a one-goal lead, but it did not stay that way for long as Mia Mugford rifled a shot into the back of the net from range six minutes into the second half.

Swindon had come flying out of the traps after the break and a penalty just a few minutes later gave Tia Rees the opportunity to increase the lead and she duly converted from the spot to make it 3-0.

By the hour mark it was all over as Hattie Jones’ mazy run cut straight through the Purton defence and she found Rees unmarked in the penalty area to tuck home her second and Swindon’s fourth of the afternoon.

Swindon were able to see out the convincing victory and celebrate their second county title in the last three years.

 

 

The brace scorer Rees said that getting on the scoresheet in a cup final was a memory that would stick with her for some time.

Speaking to club media, she said: “It was a great experience, I thought coming on the pitch that I have to take these opportunities because it is a once-in-a-lifetime experience.

“Scoring one goal with the penalty, I got lucky to be picked to step up and take it and I just had to be composed.

“For the second goal, I just opened my body up, saw the goal, and took the shot – it was potluck, really.

“[Scoring at the County Ground] is going to be a really special moment; it is going to be in my memory for years.

“Even if I didn’t score, just stepping on the pitch with those fans and even the experience after was great, so I couldn’t have asked for much more.”