Ebbsfleet United 1-1 Millwall Lionesses (aet - Millwall 3-1 pens) I'm so proud, says Fleet boss

Leading through a deserved eleventh minute opener from former Gillingham defender Rebecca Pattenden, 27, it looked as though the Stonebridge Road club were on course of winning the Cup for the very first time.

But Millwall’s pressure finally paid off and central defender Charlotte Lee, clearly their best player, broke Fleet’s hearts.

With the Fleet players suffering from tiredness during a gruelling extra thirty minutes, they paid the penalty at the end.

Millwall went first and substitute Jo Woodgates drilled her spot kick into the bottom left-hand corner but Fleet defender Vicky Forest could only look on in horror as goalkeeper Claire Lacey palmed her spot-kick, straight down the middle, onto the bar.

But when Fleet goalkeeper Faye Baker slumped low to her left to save Gemma Bryan’s penalty, the Fleet were back in it, especially when substitute Melissa Bishop despatched her spot kick into the top left-hand corner.

Ellie Stenning scored for the south Londoners but Emily Wells’ penalty bounced agonisingly off the foot of the left-upright.

Lee capped off an excellent display by scoring Millwall’s third decisive spot-kick and when Lorraine Grinyrer’s penalty bounced off the same post as Wells’ effort it was Daisy Sealey who was lifting the cup in front of a crowd of over 300 at the home of Kent League club Sevenoaks Town.

Ebbsfleet United, meanwhile, can be very proud of their performance tonight, playing against a team that play two divisions higher than them.

The Fleet, who play at the fourth tier of Women’s Football, ensured that the game started at a very slow tempo - but this was when they enjoyed their best moments of the game.

Kayleigh Weeding played in skipper Kelly Philpott, who sprung Millwall’s offside trap, but she poked a right-footed shot straight at the legs of the advancing goalkeeper.

Another chance came the Fleet’s way when Campbell’s header sent Philpott through on goal, following a rare mistake from Lee, but Lacey made her second fine save, with her feet.

And it was no surprise when the Fleet broke the deadlock - after 10 minutes and 37 seconds.

Central midfielder Grinyer whipped in her first corner of the game towards Pattenden at the far post and her right-footed volley from eight-yards on the angle, sailed across the goalkeeper and dropped nicely into the bottom far corner.

Millwall, meanwhile, responded quickly and had a goal ruled out for offside within four minutes of the opener.

Striker Bryan latched onto Aimee Churchill’s defence splitting pass down the middle and scuffed her shot across goal, and Stenning, in an offside position, slotted the ball into the bottom left-hand corner.

Millwall goalkeeper Lacey was almost left red-faced after 20 minutes when she called for the ball only to be relieved when Grinyer’s right-footed corner-kick from the right bounce off her crossbar.

Another chance fell the Fleet’s way when Juliette Teague collected a poor kick from Lacey and burst forward only to drill a right-footed shot past the far post from sixteen-yards on the right-hand side of the penalty area.

Philpott then played a diagonal pass which was met by Weeding, who was ghosting in at the far-post, only to send her left-footed hooked shot from an acute angle over.

Despite dominating the first half-hour, Ebbsfleet United couldn’t find the second goal and the Lionesses fought back.

They should have levelled through their best chance after 37 minutes but Churchill’s right-footed half-volley was struck straight at the grateful Baker.

Then Michaela Gooden sent Churchill sprinting down the left flank and she whipped in a cross from the by-line but Stenning, unmarked at the far post, couldn’t direct her header on target.

But Millwall should have levelled with five minutes of the first half remaining.

Cardelle Dunne’s cross from the right was flicked on at the near post by Bryan and the ball fell nicely for Churchill, who drilled a left-footed shot from an acute angle across goal and flashed wide.

Fleet did have some respite and Teague sent her right-footed free-kick from 25-yards high over Lacey’s crossbar, but they went in at the break a goal up.

Another poor kick from Lacey, however, gifted Ebbsfleet United a good chance after just 124 seconds into the second half but Weeding’s left-footed shot arrowed over the top of the near post.

Full-back Tamar Upton then drilled a shot past the foot of the near post after joining in with an attack before Millwall went on to apply vast amounts of pressure.

The quality that was coming off the Lionesses’ bench was electrifying, turning the screw as the Fleet’s brave hearts started to tire.

Millwall substitute Robyn McEvoy went close in the 74^th minute when her well-struck right-footed free-kick from long-range dipped just past the left post.

The Fleet had their backs against the wall for the remainder of the game.

Despite going down with cramp twice, Baker kept the Fleet in the game with some excellent saves.

The goalkeeper went down with cramp as she waited for McEvoy’s corner and when she got back to her feet, she was alert to beat out Angela Kiobel’s right-footed half-volley.

Had Ebbsfleet United grabbed a second when their two substitutes combined down the left, then the Kent club would have been celebrating.

Bishop stole the ball off a defender on the by-line and cut the ball back to Vic Wipfler, but her angled shot was saved at the near post.

But the Fleet were to rue their missed chances as the Lionesses deservedly drew level late on.

McEvoy’s corner found it’s way to Lee, who cracked her right-footed shot into the right-hand corner from 12-yards, a goal that sunk the Fleet.

It was evident that Millwall were going to retain their silverware from that moment on and they almost did inside six minutes and 11 seconds of injury time but Woodgates shot was brilliantly tipped over the near post by Baker.

Baker made another fine save inside the opening two minutes of extra time when she beat out Stenning’s shot after Pattenden failed to deal with McEvoy’s cross.

But Ebbsfleet United squandered an excellent chance to grab victory when Philpott got on the end of Grinyer’s free-kick only to glance her header straight at Lacey from six-yards out.

That miss, however, proved costly, and Millwall went for the kill.

A hooked pass from the lively Kiobel sent Stenning through on goal but the striker agonisingly rolled her shot past the far post when well placed.

A quick run from Kiobel straight down the middle of the pitch sent Bryan through on goal but her shot flew just over the crossbar from the edge of the box on the right-hand side.

But despite his side losing on penalties, Fleet manager Shaun Edwards was pleased with his side, who was grateful for the messages of support from the men's side, that lost 1-0 up at Halifax Town tonight in a Blue Square Premier encounter.

“I’ve just been in the dressing room and told the girls I was really proud of them,” he said EXCLUSIVELY to www.kentishfootball.co.uk.

“We’ve still got five league games to go and if we win them all we’ll win the league and that was always our number one target at the start of the season.

“This was just a bonus as far as I’m concerned. We drew the game one-all tonight and the penalties were really irrelevant to me.”

Millwall’s players were instructed by their coaching staff to despatch their spot-kicks ideally in the corner of the goal and Edwards admitted the spot kicks were excellent.

He said: “They’re a decent team and they took their penalties well. I know the game has to be decided one way the other but I think they were an irrelevance, as far as I was concerned, it was a one-all draw.”

Knowing that his brave side went so close of taking the Cup to the Stonebridge Road, Edwards added: “I was looking at my watch all the time through the second half and we were four minutes away from winning it.

“I’ve just told the girls’ we’ve come really, really close and I couldn’t ask anymore of them.

“I really felt we had a decent chance (of winning) especially with our first half performance. I thought we played really well and we had a couple of chances and if we had taken them I’m confident we would have gone on and won it.”

Other than Gillingham (in 2001) it has either been Charlton Athletic or Millwall that have won the Kent Women’s Cup Final in the past ten years.

And Edwards said: “It’s always been Charlton or Millwall that’s won this competition and hopefully we’ll be back next year and we’ll give it a proper go and try and win it ourselves.”

Praising his players, he added: “I just through they were absolutely all outstanding. Back four was magnificent, the keeper had a great game and they (all) absolutely ran themselves into the ground.”

Ebbsfleet United: Faye Baker, Tamar Upton, Rebecca Pattenden, Emily Wells, Vicky Forest, Hannah Chambers, Juliette Teague (Melissa Bishop 70), Lorraine Grinyer, Kelly Campbell (Vic Wipfler 85), Kayleigh Weeding, Kelly Phillips (Harriet Hills 112).
Sub: Anita Chidwick.

Goal: Rebecca Pattenden 11

Millwall Lionesses: Claire Lacey, Issi Michalski, Charlotte Rafferty (Robyn McEvoy 45), Daisy Seeley, Charlotte Lee, Jodie Mugford, Cardelle Dunne (Jo Woodgates 87), Michaela Gooden, Ellie Stenning, Gemma Bryan, Aimee Churchill (Angela Kiobel 64).
Subs: Stacey McConville, Dion Lennon.

Goal: Charlotte Lee 86

Booked: Ellie Stenning 117

Attendance: 319
Referee: Mr Neil Creasey (Deal)
Assistants: Mr John Proctor & Mr Ian Stride
Fourth Official: Mr Robert Preedy (Bromley)