Albion are out of the Vitality Women’s FA Cup after suffering penalty shoot-out heartache against Birmingham City.
A late equaliser from Albion’s Denise O’Sullivan made it 2-2 and after no further goals in extra time it was down to spot kicks.
Kayleigh Green missed Albion’s first penalty while Megan Connolly’s effort was saved by Hannah Hampson. And although Maya Le Tissier and Rianna Jarrett were successful from the spot Birmingham went through 4-2 and will face Everton in the semi-final on Wednesday.
It was a cruel way to go out for Albion, who dominated for long spells but found it tough to break down a resilient visiting team.
Head coach Hope Powell had warned that Birmingham would be much improved from the side Albion beat 2-0 on the opening day of the WSL season and she was proved right.
Dani Bowman equalised Sarah Mayling’s early opener when the Albion skipper converted a penalty but the visitors regained the lead six minutes after the interval with a spot-kick of their own converted by Mollie Green. Albion looked to be heading out but with a minute of normal time remaining substitute O’Sullivan headed home her first goal for the club.
Albion looked more likely to win it in extra time but penalties it was and it was the visitors who held their nerve.
Albion had an early chance when Victoria Williams found Fliss Gibbons overlapping on the left, and her cross picked out Emily Simpkins who could not quite get her shot on target at full stretch.
But it was the visitors who broke the deadlock on five minutes. Albion failed to cut out Christie Murray’s left-wing cross and Mayling arrived unmarked at the far post to fire into the roof of the net.
The hosts nearly fashioned an immediate response when Birmingham keeper Hannah Hampton grabbed Williams’ header at the second attempt but Harriet Scott went close for the visitors when she headed just wide from Mayling’s corner.
Scott then produced an excellent defensive challenge inside the box to thwart Simpkins before Danique Kerkdijk bravely blocked a goalbound shot from Mollie Green.
It was an open, end-to-end encounter and Albion drew level in the 23rd minute when Scott bundled over Gibbons in the box for an obvious penalty which Bowman confidently dispatched into the bottom corner.
There were further chances before the end of the half. Scott’s header dropped just wide of the left-hand post before Albion built an excellent move from deep in their own half which ended with Simpkins heading Lee’s cross just wide.
Albion made a double change at the break and one of the substitutes Kayleigh Green tested Hampton with her first touch, a glancing header from Aileen Whelan’s free kick which the keeper saved.
But Birmingham went back in front in the 51st minute with a penalty of their own, awarded when Kerkdijk was adjudged to have held back Abbi Grant. Green made no mistake, drilling the spot-kick low into the corner.
Megan Connolly and Inessa Kaagman came on midway through the second half and although Albion were pressing hard for an equaliser, they struggled to carve out clear-cut chances. Whelan’s first-time effort from outside the box in the 74th minute was their first effort on target of the second half and Hampton was right behind it.
Albion kept pressing and went close with ten minutes to go when Kayleigh Green got on the end of Gibbons’ cross but her looping header went just over the target. Inessa Kaagman drilled a shot from the left just past the far post then Whelan connected with Gibbons’ pass but couldn’t get enough power on her effort and Hampton saved.
It looked like being a frustrating afternoon for Albion but with a minute left they drew level. Gibbons got to the byline and produced a fine cross which O’Sullivan glanced past Hampton to make it 2-2.
Hampton made a superb save at the start of extra time when she kept out a sweetly struck volley from Rianna Jarrett, who then failed to turn the loose ball in when Maya Le Tissier pulled back Kaagman’s corner from the left.
Albion continued to probe with Birmingham offering only sporadic threats on the counter, but they couldn’t find a third goal and it was the visitors who prevailed from the spot.
Albion: Fiskerstrand, Le Tissier, Stott, Kerkdijk, Williams (Jarrett 80); Whelan, Bowman (O’Sullivan 45), Heroum (Connolly 65), Gibbons, Simpkins (Kaagman 65), Lee (Green 45).
Subs not used: Walsh, Longhurst, Nokuthula.
Referee: Rebecca Welch