PLYMOUTH Argyle were unable to claim their first major national trophy as they were narrowly beaten 1-0 by AFC Bournemouth in the FAWNL Cup final at Loftus Road on Saturday.
The Pilgrims had beaten Bournemouth six days earlier in the league, but they were unable to repeat that feat in front of the BBC Iplayer cameras.
Kenni Thompson scored straight from a corner for the Cherries in just the seventh minute and Argyle just could not turn the game around, despite an improved second half.
“It’s disappointing to lose in this way, but still, for me, we’ve got to look back on the journey we had to get here and take a lot of pride in that,” said Argyle head coach Marie Hourihan afterwards. “We still have two massive games in the league to look forward to.”
She added: “It was a tale of two halves. We were nowhere near the levels that we’ve been consistently at this season in the first half, and we need to give Bournemouth credit. They came out of the traps really quickly and scored the goal early on.
“But at half-time we made a couple of changes and came out with a lot more intent, started to play a lot more and moved the ball a lot quicker, which was a problem in the first half.
“We got into higher areas of the pitch with quick, fast combinations and created three or four good opportunities, hitting the post and having the goal disallowed, but we just ran out of time and didn’t manage to get that equalising goal.”
In FAWNL Division One South West, Marine Academy Plymouth earned a 1-1 draw with fifth-placed Maidenhead United in an entertaining game at Ivybridge on Sunday.
Maidenhead led 1-0 at half-time with a long-range effort from Megan Harper.
Both sides hit the woodwork in the opening 45 minutes, which Maidenhead edged, but Marine Academy came out fired up for the second half and really put pressure on their visitors and caused them problems.
The home side levelled the game in the 56th minute when Sienna Gilbert fired home from the right.
Ellie Bishop was proving a good outlet down the left for Marine Academy in the second half and the home side were looking threatening on the break.
Both teams went looking for a winning goal late on and both came close.
Marine Academy brilliantly blocked a shot from a Maidenhead corner right on the line, and from it they then broke and Bishop was only denied twice by great saves by the visiting goalkeeper.
And just a couple of minutes before the end, Marine Academy came agonisingly close again from a Samantha Drewery freekick from a tight angle on the left.
Marine Academy stay in eighth place and they are six points clear 11th-placed Portishead, who fill the final relegation place and who only have two games to play, while Marine have three.
In the South West Women’s League Premier Division, Saltash United were beaten 4-1 at home by third-placed Forest Green Rovers.
Saltash felt the scoreline was harsh on them, but Forest Green took their chances with Iashai McNama bagging a hat-trick for the visitors and Katie Jones also adding one.
The Ashes’ only goal came from Taylor Ford.
Saltash are in eighth spot, three points clear of the relegation zone, but they do have three games in hand on ninth-placed Frampton Rangers, who only have one match to play – away at Forest Green Rovers.
Plympton continued to set the pace in the Devon Women’s League Premier Division. They beat Tiverton Town 7-0 away on Sunday.
Libby Williams bagged a hat-trick for Plympton, with Crystal-Mae Pollock, Bella Brown-Tunnell, Holly Prynn and Ashleigh Gavican-Lapthorn also chipping in with goals.
Second-placed SB Oak Villa kept the pressure on Plympton by coming from behind to beat Bideford at Manadon on Sunday.
The visitors had led 1-0 at the break, but Oak Villa took the three points with second-half goals from Mia Dulling and Saskia Brisley.
There were some interesting results in Devon South & West at the weekend.
Hunter District enjoyed a 2-1 victory over Elm United on Sunday thanks to goals by Chloe Thompson and Danielle Schofield. Becky Brown scored Elm’s only effort.
Tavistock, meanwhile, earned a 2-2 home draw with Plainmoor, with Kimberley Benny and Louise McLeod on target for them.
In the Devon League Cup quarter-finals, South & West Division title chasers Plymouth Marjon were beaten 2-1 away by higher league Teignmouth. Freya Jackson scored Marjon’s only goal in south Devon.
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