Brentford Women beat Richmond Park 3-1 on Sunday afternoon to ensure their place in the semi-finals of the Capital Cup.

Richmond Park’s opener inside 20 minutes was shortly followed up by a Chloe Logie strike before an unbelievable goal from Sophie Troth put the Bees in front. Logie sealed the victory for Brentford two minutes from full-time with her second of the game seeing the visitors proceed to the final four of the Capital Cup.

After two consecutive defeats, it was important for the Bees to get off to a good start as they played for a place in the semi-finals of the competition.

Kirsty Matthews had a couple of good opportunities in the opening five minutes of the game in what was a positive start from the visitors, but the winger saw both of her efforts go just wide of the post.

Kirsty Matthews

Brentford looked dangerous in the final third and came inches away from taking the lead on 12 minutes when a Mollie Holmes pass found Logie but the number nine’s shot was saved well by Richmond’s Evie Witek.

Despite the strong start from Brentford, it was Richmond who opened the scoring against the run of play on 16 minutes.

Alara Tyrer cut inside from the right wing and slotted the ball past an oncoming Azza Fouly from close range giving the home side the lead.

Worlsey was having a great game in midfield for Brentford and nearly found the leveller on the half-hour mark.

Brentford’s number 20 intercepted a pass from Richmond’s Bella Coetzee, leaving her in a good position to have a shot on goal but her effort flew over the bar.

Three minutes later the Bees got their deserved goal and it was Logie who was on scene to put the away side on level terms.

Matthews came inside from the right channel to unleash a shot however the number 12 scuffed her strike with the ball falling into the path of Logie who was able to tap home from close range.

On the stroke of half-time Logie played a brilliant pass through to Saunders but Witek was there to deny the forward who tried to beat the Richmond keeper from a tight angle.

Nikki Saunders

Richmond flew out of the traps after the break and Lauren Hawkley came close for the home side with her flicked effort on goal beating Fouly and forcing Lily Dalton to clear away.

On 54 minutes the hosts were awarded a penalty after Chloe Webb brought down Tyrer inside the box with the referee deeming the challenge a foul.

Lilac Jervis stepped up for Richmond only for the defender to smash her spot kick wide as the score line remained level.

The home team were made to pay for their missed opportunity moments later when Sophie Troth scored an unbelievable goal from 25 yards out.

The number 10 found herself in space and unleashed a powerful shot which flew into the top right corner putting Brentford in front.

The Bees grew into the second half and began dominating possession as they looked to be back to their normal selves.

Brentford had a great chance to wrap the game up 10 minutes from the full-time whistle after Logie slipped through Saunders, but Witek was there again to make another great save for her side.

On 88 minutes the visitors did get their third goal with Saunders the provider as she played a lovely lobbed pass to Logie who peeled off her defender.

The striker showed excellent composure to tuck the ball past Witek who wasn’t able to save her team this time.

Chloe Logie celebrates

The goal ensured the victory for Brentford who put themselves in the hat for the semi-finals of the Capital Cup.

Karleigh Osborne’s thoughts

Following the win, head coach Karleigh Osborne was left happy with what he saw from his side.

Speaking after the game, Osborne said: “I’m pleased to be through to the semi-finals, it was a good game of football, Richmond Park came and gave it a really good go and played some good football.

“It took us a bit of time to get into the first half but once we got going, I thought we controlled the game well and started to show what we’re about.”

After missing a number of chances before the Richmond opener, the game could have panned out similar to last weekend, where Brentford were made to rue their missed opportunities, but Osborne always believed his side could go on to get the win.

Karleigh Osborne

“I thought to myself please, not another week like last week, but we created so many chances again today which is a good thing but, in all honesty, I thought we could have scored more.

“I wanted Logie to score she’s gone a few games without goals now so when the equaliser came I felt confident that we were going to build on it.”

Troth was key for the visitors as she put in a solid performance in midfield before dropping into centre-back and scoring a great goal to put her side in front.

Talking on Troth, Osborne said: “She was brilliant, I’m really tough on Sophie because she’s a talented player and I want her to be the best she can be, but she stood up to the task today.

“I asked her for a goal and she delivered, I’m over the moon for her she deserves credit because she’s worked hard.”

Osborne continued: “We’re getting into the part of the season that really matters, one thing I’m pleased about is we’re fighting for the league still and now we have a semi-final to prepare for.

“I’m looking forward to the rest of the season, it’s going to be a difficult but we’re up for the challenge and we want to win something this year.”