Cambridge City advance into next round of League Plate after penalty shootout win over AFC Dunstable

Goalkeeper Erica Meale was the hero with two saves in Cambridge City’s 3-1 penalty shootout win over AFC Dunstable in the League Plate on Sunday, writes Robert Coe.

Lily Horsler, Faith Harrison and Natasha Coe converted their spot-kicks while Meale guessed correctly and saved the home team’s second and fourth penalties to put the Lilywhites into the next round.

Earlier Coe had fired City ahead with a 25-yard first-half screamer before Dunstable equalised in a frantic finale to make it 1-1 after 90 minutes.

City boss Stewart Nicholls said: “The conditions were very difficult for both teams but we tried to play football.

“We worked on overlaps and underlays at training, and we saw that in places today.

“We made substitutions in the second half, which disrupted the flow a little bit. The subs did well when they came on, but it takes time in bad weather conditions to get straight into the game.”

“Again, I think everyone can see them fighting for each other, and they are now able to dig deep when needed.”

The Lilywhites have been drawn away to lower-level Harpenden Town in the next round of the competition, with the tie set to take place on 8 December.

The Hertfordshire side have lost none of their 10 league encounters this season.