RUGBY Borough Women valiantly bowed out of the FA Cup at the fifth round stage following a late 2-0 defeat against Women’s Super League (WSL) side Liverpool.
Substitutes Marie Hobinger and Mia Enderby struck late on for the visitors after Borough produced a valiant performance in front of a sell-out crowd at Kilsby Lane.
Lee Burch’s side went into the cup tie as the lowest-ranked team left in the competition and play two levels below WSL opponents Liverpool.
Borough kept Liverpool at bay for the majority of the first half with the visitors limited to a couple of half chances.
Rugby forced a corner following a long spell of Liverpool pressure as Borough captain Ebony Wiseman and Alanta Brown broke quickly down the right.
The closest either side came in the first half saw Liverpool’s Sophie Roman Haug fire a shot which clipped the outside of the post.
Borough continued to frustrate the Reds as Brown held the ball up well and drew a foul from Alejandra Bernabe who picked up a yellow card in the process as the Rugby forward threatened to break through.
After the break, Borough goalkeeper Nyla Peterkin made a superb save to keep out Jenna Clark’s close-range effort as the flag went up for offside.
The Reds went close again as Taylor Hinds fired narrowly over the bar from the left hand side of the penalty area.
Rugby’s best chance fell to Angelina Nixon as she burst away from several defenders down the left and jinked into the box only for Rachael Laws to make a crucial save with her foot.
At the other end, Peterkin comfortably held Enderby’s tame effort before substitute Leanne Kiernan cracked a shot against the crossbar following a one-two in the box.
However, Liverpool eventually broke Rugby’s resistance when Hobinger curled a shot into the left corner of the goal from 25-yards out with six minutes left to play.
And as Borough searched for an equaliser, the Reds sealed their place in the next round as Enderby lashed a first time shot past the on rushing Peterkin from Hobinger’s pass in injury time.
