Derby County Women booked their spot in the Semi-Finals of the FA Women’s National League Plate with a 5-0 victory at Sutton Coldfield Town on Sunday.
Skipper Amy Sims scored a hat-trick inside the opening 45 minutes to take her tally for the season to 16 in all competitions.
Midfielder Becky May and winger Kira Rai both scored late in the second half to round off a comprehensive victory for Sam Griffiths’ Ewes, while Sims also saw a penalty hit the post in the latter stages.
Derby are back in league action next Sunday when they travel across the Midlands to face West Bromwich Albion (3pm kick-off).
“A Professional Performance” - Griffiths
Manager Sam Griffiths described the Ewes’ performance as a ‘professional’ one to avoid a cup upset on the road.
Derby went into the contest as favourites to reach the final four of the National League Plate, which was a stark contrast to their Adobe FA Cup Fourth Round tie against Women’s Super League side Leicester City on home turf two weeks ago.
Griffiths felt the Ewes handled the game well and adapted to the challenges Sutton provided them with.
She said: “Professional is probably the word I would use to assess the performance.
“It is never easy coming up against the underdogs and it was important we didn’t concede.
“I thought the girls adapted to what we were up against and I am pleased with the result.”
On Derby’s aspirations for the competition, Griffiths added: “We want to go on and win the competition, of course we’d rather be in the League Cup but we’re in the National League Plate, and there’s no hiding that fact.”
Griffiths has used the National League Plate to give players in the squad match minutes this term and she did so again this time around with goalkeeper Sarah Morgan and defender Ella Hilliard coming into the side.
She was pleased with the contribution of those that came into starting line-up, as well as the handful of youngsters who made the matchday squad with Isabel Sheridan, Katrina St John and Eve Shepherd all getting match minutes.
Griffiths said: “We shuffled the team around and we’ve used the competition to do that this year.
“Everyone that started was excellent and the players that came off the bench made an impact.
“It was good to give a few of the youngsters some minutes to show what they could do.
“We’ll try and involve them when we can but it also important that they continue to get minutes for their respective youth teams rather than sitting on our bench.”
“We Just Need To Keep Going” - Sims
Hat-trick hero Amy Sims says the Ewes know plenty of hard work lies ahead if they’re to achieve their overall target of winning the National League Plate.
Sims, who has scored 16 goals this season, has stressed the importance of maintaining momentum in the side’s quest to get their hands on some silverware this term.
The Derby captain said: “The most important thing was getting the win and progressing.
“We can’t ask for more really; we made changes to the side for this game, but everyone played for the team and did well.
“We want to win the National League Plate, so to get the 5-0 win is pleasing. The target is to win it and now we’re into the Semi Finals, we’ve just got to keep going.”
Sims’ treble saw her get on the scoresheet for the first time since the Christmas break and she’s eager to get herself on another goalscoring run in the coming weeks.
She said: “It’s nice to get my first goals of 2024 as I know I’ve needed to be more clinical in the last few weeks.
“A hat-trick is nice and I just want to kick on now and take that into the league matches we have ahead.”
“It Feels Good!” - Meadows
Player of the Match Helena Meadows says it ‘feels good’ to be into the last four of the National League Plate.
Meadows, who joined Derby earlier this year having previously been with Southampton, has impressed in her short time with the Ewes.
The midfielder was used as a left-back against Sutton and was pleased to play her part in an impressive victory which saw the side book a Semi-Final spot.
She said: “It feels great to get through to the Semi-Finals.
“Sutton were a good opposition and their shape was really good; it meant we had to work quite hard to break it down.
“We got five goals in the end, so we did well and getting a clean sheet was also nice.”
Meadows added: “Even though we were 3-0 up and in a good position at half-time, we knew we could still improve in some areas.
“After the 90 minutes, I think we can all be happy.”
