Abingdon United Women were defeated at The Northcourt on Sunday afternoon against Reading, as a penalty shootout loss saw The Yellows exit the Berks and Bucks FA Women's Senior Cup at the quarter-final stage.

Chris Smith made four changes to the side which beat Southampton last time out. Olivia Smith, Mimi Hodges, Anais Harris-Beechers and Freya Gilmore all returned to the starting eleven, whilst new signing Belinda Msimang went straight into the matchday squad, starting the game amongst the substitutes.

Whilst United were the higher ranked of the two sides going into the game, it was the young Royals side who had the first clear sight at goal. Assia Fatri found space down the right, and saw her effort cleared off the line by Charlotte Deeley.

Moments later, it was Fatri again who went close for Reading. A mix up at the back allowed the Royals number 9 to fire another effort at goal, but her effort went wide.

United responded well to the early pressure. A ball in from the left by Kara Howes was met by Erin Hartigan, but her effort went wide.

That was the last of the action in the first half, with very little going for either side. Before halftime, the game saw a debut for Msimang, who came on in place of Erin Hartigan for her debut.

The second half started as the first one did, with The Royals on the front foot. A few efforts at goal were dealt with well by Caitlin Crierie, but the visitors looked dangerous going forward at points in the game.

Another key opportunity for Reading went begging. It was Fatri again who struck towards the bottom left corner, but her effort went wide.

With just seconds to go, United hit the bar via a Lauren May header, meaning the game would be settled on penalties.

Having already won three penalty shootouts during the campaign, it would be Reading who came out victorious in the shootout, scoring all five penalties to book their spot in the semi finals.

Abingdon will return their focus to their FAWNL campaign, with a trip to Keynsham Town next weekend.

Post-Match - Chris Smith

United boss Chris Smith was disappointed with The Yellows' exit from the County Cup, whilst also taking the positives from the 90 minutes.

He said: "Yesterday was a reminder that anything can happen in Cup competitions.

"We love the county cup and it's certainly painful to exit, but we have to take the positives of a third straight clean sheet, some minutes for some players and a chance to learn from another scenario against us.

"We have to move on quickly with training Tuesday and start to focus on a tough trip away to Keynsham. We have some brilliant momentum in the league and this will be a test to see where we are.

"We congratulate Reading and wish them all the best with the next round."