Aberdeen sealed their place in the SSE Scottish Women’s Cup third round draw as they showed great character to come from 2-1 down to beat Buchan Ladies 3-2 in Maud.

The Dons won at Buchan on league business back in April in a tightly contested affair that was decided late on. A tough match was always on the cards today as the visitors looked to get back to winning ways after drawing at Cove Rangers in their last outing.

Aberdeen had the game’s first attempt as Johan Fraser headed a Lauren Gordon corner over the crossbar after 7-minutes. Despite a confident start by the visitors, Buchan showed that they wouldn’t be a pushover as they threatened on 15-minutes. Jo Murphy was released down the right wing but was denied an attempt on goal by Deirdre O’Riordan who showed great pace to get back and dispossess the winger.

The home side were forced onto the back-foot as the first half continued and the Dons looked far more likely to break the deadlock. Gordon had a shot blocked before Eilidh Shore and Bayley Hutchison combined to set-up Sophie Jamieson who saw her shot saved by Sangster in the Buchan goal.

Jamieson again went close on 25-minutes as the Reds continued to threaten. A wonderful cross-field pass by Loren Campbell found Jamieson in behind her marker at the back post. The Aberdeen forward just couldn’t get enough on the ball to find the net and Sangster was able to collect.

The pressure was building on the home defence as a succession of corners saw Gordon, Hutchison and Natasha Bruce all have attempts on goal. The attacking intent paid off as the visitors finally made the breakthrough in first-half stoppage time.

Bayley Hutchison collected the ball inside the Buchan half and proceeded to go on a weaving run, right at the heart of the home back-line. HUTCHISON evaded several tackles as she made her way into the box before showing great composure to finish past Sangster and give her side a deserved half-time lead.

HT: BUCHAN LADIES 0-1 ABERDEEN

The second half began as the first had finished, with the visitors on the attack. Shore and Johan Fraser had both tested the Sangster in the opening minutes of the half before Gordon drew a great diving save from the Buchan keeper with a powerful shot from the angle of the box.

The home side then drew level with an equaliser that came against the run of play. Louise BROWN got on the end of a through-ball after 52-minutes and finished well to level the tie at 1-1. Buchan had looked dangerous on the break despite all Aberdeen’s possession and that threat continued as the Dons looked to regain the lead.

O’Riordan hit the post for the visitors as she got on the end of Gordon’s dangerous corner from the right, Hutchison then side-footed wide as the Dons domination of possession continued. Buchan hit the woodwork too as Murphy’s effort from out wide was tipped onto the crossbar as the home side began to enjoy their best spell of the game.

Despite their opponents becoming more of threat, Aberdeen were still pressing for a second. Gordon had a shot blocked well by Jennifer Urquhart before Campbell’s lung-bursting run and cross from the right somehow evaded all the red shirts in the penalty area.

Buchan then took the lead with just thirteen-minutes remaining as they again found the net after coming under pressure at the back. MURPHY showed a great turn of pace to race on to a ball through the heart of the Dons defence before sending a shot into the top corner of the net.

Aberdeen didn’t panic, despite finding themselves behind in a game they had dominated. Hutchison had a shot blocked as the red shirts piled forward looking to stay in the cup. They finally got their reward in the 84th minute thanks to substitute Amy Phillips.

Phillips had seen her initial shot from inside the penalty area blocked before Shore tried to get onto the rebound. The ball then fell to PHILLIPS again who made the most of the second opportunity to stay calm and force the ball home under pressure.

The game was heading for extra-time but Aberdeen were not giving up on a win inside ninety-minutes as they continued to pile pressure on the Buchan defence. The visitors got their reward with just two-minutes remaining.

The referee awarded Aberdeen a penalty for a handball in the penalty area, much to the anger of the Buchan players. SHORE kept her nerve from the spot to fire a low right-foot shot beyond Sangster and into the net to send Aberdeen into the third round.

FULL TIME | Buchan Ladies 2-3 Aberdeen

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REACTION

Amy PHILLIPS

“It was a tough game. I think we started well but dipped a bit at the start of the second half. We came back and showed composure to come back and win it from two one down and I think we did really well. I was obviously disappointed not to start but I was pleased to get on and just wanted to try and make an impact. I was pleased to get the goal and with the team overall and chuffed to get to the next round”.

Deirdre O’RIORDAN

“It’s really good to get to the next round, we’re looking to go as far as we can in the cup. We started off well, there was a little dip at the start of the second half but we did well to get the goals to put us through. Overall the team played really well and we’re glad to move onto the next round. We were a lot more composed defensively today compared to the last game against Cove. We were a lot more composed and calmer on the ball which allowed us to pass better and make more chances”.