Oxford United Women beat Carterton Town Ladies 8-0 at Court Place Farm on Sunday to progress to the Oxfordshire County Cup final.

United will play Oxford City Ladies at the same venue in the final on Sunday 21st April after they beat Barton United Ladies 6-0 in the other semi-final.

United had to be patient against their Thames Valley Counties Women’s League opponents after Emily Allen’s shot came back off the post in the third minute. The women kept plugging away against Carterton’s dogged defence and in the 27th minute they rattled the woodwork again when left-back Steph Bent’s 30-yard effort hit the bar.

Two minutes later and the U’s eventually made the breakthrough when Allen got in front of her marker to flick the ball home from Evie Gane’s right-wing cross. This was the signal for the floodgates to open and in the 32nd minute United grabbed their second as Gane had a tap-in to double the lead.

It was 3-0 in the 35th minute when Cheryl Williams made no mistake with just the keeper to beat and United made it four before the break as Gane scored her second goal.

Any hopes that Carterton may have had of mounting a second-half comeback were shattered within a minute as Williams poked the ball home from close range. Flo Fyfe then collected a through ball from Williams before shooting low into the bottom corner to make it 6-0 with less than an hour gone.

There were chances for Oxford to extend their lead through Williams and Allen, but they found the Carterton keeper and defence in defiant mood, and there were even a couple of nervous moments at the back for United before Gane completed her hat-trick and made it seven in the 73rd minute. Just six minutes later Georgia Timms got her name on the score sheet with a sweet finish after Fyfe played a cutting pass through the Carterton defence.

The final scoreline was a fair reflection of United’s dominance but credit must be given to Carterton, who continued to make it a competitive game and didn’t let their heads go down.

Attention returns to the National League next Sunday as Oxford United Women host Gillingham Ladies at Court Place Farm (kick-off 2pm).

United

Sercombe, Hennessy, Mobbs (Sims), Lynch, Bent, Gane, Baker (Beaver), Walklett (Fyfe), Allen, Lancaster, Williams (Timms)

Att: 136