Women's FA Cup: Man City & Chelsea progress as Vivianne Miedema & Lauren James make returns
2025-01-13
Category: sports

Vivianne Miedema scored on her return from a knee injury as Manchester City beat Ipswich 3-0 to reach the fifth round of the Women's FA Cup. The Dutch forward came off the bench to make her first appearance since 9 October and latched on to a through ball from Chloe Kelly before firing into the bottom corner.It added to earlier goals from Jill Roord and Laura Coombs and rounded off a comfortable afternoon for the three-time winners. "Viv is a top player and she is always going to make this team better," said City boss Gareth Taylor."Hopefully this gives her the confidence and gives her more minutes under her belt to blow the cobwebs off a little bit, to be ready for what's ahead."
Third-tier Ipswich were beaten 10-0 on their previous visit to the Blues in 2020 so this marked a much-improved display. England forward Lauren James also returned for Chelsea as the five-time winners beat Charlton 4-0. James, who has not played since pulling out of a Champions League game against Twente in the warm-up on 17 October, played 45 minutes, before being taken off at half-time.A header from Mayra Ramirez, a Guro Reiten penalty, a clever Aggie Beever-Jones finish and a Niamh Charles strike meant Chelsea extended their unbeaten start to 17 games under Sonia Bompastor.There was concern for the French boss in stoppage time, though, when Dutch midfielder Wieke Kaptein was carried off on a stretcher after landing awkwardly. Fulham, who play in the fifth tier and were the lowest-ranked side in the fourth round, were comfortably beaten 5-0 by Championship side London City Lionesses. Chantelle Boye-Hlorkah netted a first-half hat-trick, before Kosovare Asllani scored a penalty and Issy Goodwin stroked home the fifth goal.Two third-tier sides - Wolves and Rugby Borough - are also through and will be the lowest-ranked sides in the next stage.Seven ties - including Arsenal v Bristol City, Everton v Tottenham and West Ham v Liverpool - were postponed across the weekend due to the inclement weather across the country. 
Dale & Jones hit hat-tricks in Sunderland win
One of the most impressive displays of the day came from Championship Sunderland as they put seven past third-tier Exeter City.Eleanor Dale, who represented England at under-17 level and has played in the United States, scored four of them, while Ellen Jones notched a hat-trick.Sunderland, who are fifth in the Championship, were 4-1 up at half-time, with Dale and Jones both scoring twice.The pair completed their hat-tricks in the second half as the visitors scored three unanswered goals. Fellow Championship side Newcastle United are also through. They had to be patient against third-tier leaders Nottingham Forest but Jasmine McQuade's strike from distance secured their progression. Wolves progressed with a 2-0 over Cheltenham Town, while Rugby Borough thrashed London Bees 6-0.Holders Manchester United were the first team through to the last 16 after their 7-0 win over West Brom on Saturday. 
Women's FA Cup fourth-round results
Manchester United 7-0 West BromFulham 0-5 London City LionessesExeter City 1-7 SunderlandManchester City 3-0 Ipswich TownNewcastle United 1-0 Nottingham ForestCheltenham Town 0-2 Wolverhampton WanderersLondon Bees 0-6 Rugby BoroughChelsea 4-0 Charlton AthleticAston Villa v Bristol Rovers (17:45 GMT)
Postponed games in Women's FA Cup fourth round
Arsenal v Bristol CityBlackburn Rovers v Portsmouth (rescheduled for 15 January, 19:00 GMT)Brighton v DurhamCrystal Palace v Sheffield UnitedEverton v Tottenham HotspurLeicester City v Stoke CityWest Ham United v Liverpool (rescheduled for 29 January, 19:45 GMT)
When is the Women's FA Cup fifth-round draw?
The draw for the fifth round will take place on Monday on the Women's FA Cup YouTube page.It will take place from 18:30 GMT with Ryhanna Parara and four-time FA Cup winner Jen Beattie drawing the balls.The fifth-round ties are due to take place across the weekend of 8-9 February.