Lisburn Rangers 2-3 Cliftonville Ladies
FI Morgan grabbed a late winner, her second goal of the night, as Cliftonville Ladies scored twice in the closing minutes to overcome Lisburn Rangers and maintain their grip on the Electric Ireland Women’s Irish Cup.
Having broken the deadlock in the tie of the second round at Crewe Park, the Reds found themselves behind at the interval and, try as they might, were simply unable to find a way back into the contest until three minutes from time, when a Caitlin McGuinness equaliser set up a grandstand finale that saw Fi Morgan complete the job with her second goal of the night.
Having comprehensively defeated Rangers in last season’s Final, Cliftonville travelled to Glenavy for this second round tie expecting a fierce challenge and that’s certainly what they got, being forced to work hard before eventually going 1-0 up through a powerful Morgan header.
The hosts responded well, however, and not only levelled matters before half-time but reached the break 2-1 to the good thanks to a Faye Loughran double, leaving the Reds with some serious work to do in the second period.
Despite dominating possession and subjecting Lisburn to wave after wave of attack, Cliftonville appeared to be on the brink of elimination when Carla Devine flicked on for McGuinness to squeeze home an equaliser.
The Reds weren’t content to settle for extra-time, though, and completed a dramatic late turnaround just as the clock ticked into 90 minutes when Morgan nodded in from Marissa Callaghan’s corner kick.
Ballyclare Comrades Ladies secured a convincing 3–0 win away to Carrick Rangers Falcons to progress to the quarter-finals.
The first half was tightly contested, with both sides creating half chances and it was Ballyclare who broke the deadlock before the break – a stunning strike from distance by Cerys Madden making it 1–0 at half time.
The Falcons came out flying after the restart, dominating the opening 10 minutes of the second half, but Ballyclare regrouped, raised their tempo and started to press effectively. A solid display from Eimear in midfield and Lois at left back kept Carrick at bay as the clock ticked down.
With 20 minutes to go, Ballyclare introduced Zoë Johnston and Emily Ostermeyer – and the changes paid off. After being denied a penalty Zoë popped up in the box to slot home the crucial second goal and settle any Ballyclare nerves.
Moments later, great play down the left-hand side saw Chloe Verner slot home Ballyclare’s third goal to seal the result.
Mia Moore, Aimee Kerr and Rachel Rogan scored twice each as Glentoran Women eased past Greenisland Women 8-0.
Sophie McKnight and Caitlin Carlisle, on her first-team debut, netted the other goals for the 2023 winners.
Results: Lisburn Rangers 2 Cliftonville Women 3; Carrick Rangers Falcons 0 Ballyclare Comrades Ladies 3; Glentoran Women 8 Greenisland Women 0.
Glentoran v Greenisland action (below)
Larne Women host Bangor Ladies on Monday while Linfield have received a bye with scheduled opponents Portadown unable to fulfil the fixture.
Linfield, meanwhile, have announced the signing defender of Jodie McQuillan from League of Ireland side DLR Waves.
