Goals galore in FA Cup as Liverpool, Man Utd & Man City progress

Liverpool, Manchester City and Manchester United all cruised into the fifth round of the Women’s FA Cup as 55 goals were scored across 12 matches on Sunday.

Top-flight strugglers Liverpool banished their goalscoring woes by putting six past fourth-tier London Bees, with five separate players on the scoresheet including debutants Denise O’Sullivan and Martha Thomas.

Women’s Super League leaders City cruised to a 6-0 win at third-tier Bournemouth, after Khadija Shaw opened the scoring with a thumping 19th-minute header.

Three further goals – a Lauren Hemp drive and a double from Laura Coombs – settled the contest before half-time, with substitute Vivianne Miedema netting twice after the break as City stretched their unbeaten run to 16 games in all competitions.

Their Manchester rivals United also made light work of their tie against third-tier Burnley with a 5-0 victory.

Captain Maya Le Tissier put Marc Skinner’s side ahead after two minutes, with new signing Lea Schuller and 16-year-old academy graduate Layla Drury also on target.

In the only all-WSL tie of the round, 14-time winners Arsenal battled to a 2-0 victory over Aston Villa, with captain Kim Little claiming a goal and an assist.

“She is unbelievable. She does everything 100%. She can really perform at this level,” Arsenal manager Renee Slegers told Channel 4.

Second-tier Nottingham Forest pushed Brighton – without manager Dario Vidosic, who was absent for personal reasons – all the way at Broadfield Stadium.

Brighton edged in front through Madison Hayley’s penalty on the stroke of half-time before Jelena Cankovic’s header secured victory late on.

WSL 2 frontrunners Charlton Athletic were the highest scorers of the weekend, netting 10 without reply in an emphatic display against Swindon Town.

Bristol City got the better of fellow WSL 2 side Southampton in the only tie that required extra time. The Robins levelled late in the second half to force an additional 30 minutes, before Emily Syme completed the turnaround in the 118th minute.

Meanwhile fellow second-tier clubs Birmingham City and Sheffield United are also through after 6-2 and 2-1 wins over Hull City and Ipswich, and Oxford United saw off Middlesborough 3-1 in the only all-third tier fixture.

York City of the National League were the lowest-ranked side left in the competition, but their history-making run to the fourth round ended with a 3-0 loss at Chatham Town.

The theme of the fourth-round weekend was goalscoring debutants, with plenty of players making an instant impact on their first appearances for their new clubs.

Having struggled for goals this season, Liverpool’s victory over London Bees was spearheaded by two January recruits.

Republic of Ireland international Denise O’Sullivan, whose arrival was confirmed late on Saturday evening, scored inside two minutes, with fellow debutant Martha Thomas heading in the side’s third goal shortly after the half-hour mark.

Forward Alice Bergstrom, who also joined the club earlier this month, grabbed her first goal too, albeit on her second appearance for the Reds.

North-west neighbours Manchester United also had a couple of new names on the scoresheet.

Experienced striker Schuller, who signed for the club during the winter break, marked her first appearance with a close range header, while teenager Drury came off the bench to score on her first senior professional appearance with a left-footed drive from distance.

The draw for the fifth round will take place at 19:00 GMT on Monday, 19 January on the Adobe Women’s FA Cup YouTube channel, external.

The fifth-round ties are scheduled to take place on Sunday, 22 February.

Ben Haines, Ellen White and Jen Beattie are back for another season of the Women’s Football Weekly podcast. New episodes drop every Tuesday on BBC Sounds, plus find interviews and extra content from the Women’s Super League and beyond on the Women’s Football Weekly feed