Luton Aims for FA Cup Upset Following Dramatic Penalty Shootout Victory

Last weekend, in the FA Women’s Cup, Jess McKay was among five Luton players who successfully converted two penalty kicks during the shootout against Stevenage Women. While not the longest penalty shootout in football history, the event was undoubtedly memorable for all participants. The FA Women’s Cup match between Stevenage Women and Luton Town Ladies, which concluded in a 1-1 draw, required a total of 32 spot-kicks, with the visiting Luton side ultimately prevailing 15-14. This weekend, Luton will face Portsmouth in an away tie in Havant. The upcoming match offers the prospect of £35,000 in prize money and a spot in the fourth-round draw, a stage where Women’s Super League teams join the competition. Having already secured four victories to reach this point, the team is keen to surpass last year’s performance, when they were eliminated in round four by Brighton & Hove Albion. Luton had prior knowledge that a victory against Stevenage would lead to a match against Portsmouth, as their second-round fixture had been postponed by seven days due to adverse weather conditions. Joint manager Myles Maddix informed BBC Sport, “We’ve got a good team of analysts and they’ve been at work for the last couple of weeks, so we know quite a bit about them.” However, Luton faces the challenge of a three-tier league difference to advance; they currently hold second place in the Premier Division of the Eastern Region League, whereas Pompey competes in the Championship. Maddix’s preparations for Sunday’s game remain unaffected by the fact that the home team, promoted last season, is currently at the bottom of the Championship standings with just one point from nine matches. He stated, “This is something we see a lot in women’s football, the gulf between one level and the next is quite big. I am confident we can get a result but we know it’s going to be a very difficult game.” He added, “We want to challenge ourselves against the best and would relish playing another WSL team [if we win] – home or away.” Last weekend, Luton initially trailed in their match against Stevenage, but Amber Leighton’s 20-yard shot into the top corner equalized the score, which remained unchanged until the end of regular time. During the shootout, following 10 successful penalties from each team, Stevenage appeared poised to advance to round three after Luton’s Tanya Blacksley had her penalty saved. However, goalkeeper Sarah Hudson, who had previously scored Luton’s 10th penalty, then saved Lauren Reeves’ attempt. Moments later, she secured the victory by diving to her right to save Hannah Nebbitt’s shot. Myles Maddix (right), joint manager of Luton Town Ladies, expressed anticipation for his team’s upcoming challenge against Portsmouth. Maddix remarked, “I have never seen anything like it in my life, it was extraordinary.” He continued, “There’s a lot of different emotions. You want to start well, get the first three or four out of the way, but when it got to 10, 11, it was just nerve-wracking because you have to use less confident players.” Maddix also commented, “I felt gutted for Tan(ya), she’s been at the club for a long time. No-one wants to be the only one to have theirs saved. But I had a lot of faith in Sarah Hudson, she’s a fantastic goalkeeper.” Following Hudson’s match-winning save, jubilant celebrations ensued, though she experienced a minor injury. Maddix further explained, “One of our other players went to give Sarah a big hug. And she ended up with a bit of a nosebleed. The physio had to patch her up – but we were all overjoyed.” Hudson will aim to prevent a similar incident during the Portsmouth game, should it also proceed to penalties.