Leeds United Women exit the FA Cup at the hands of Championship side Durham

A trio of braces from Bridget Galloway, Beth Hepple and Mollie Lambert knocked the Whites out of their first third-round tie in three seasons.

The two teams, who are two tiers apart in the women’s pyramid, were evenly matched for the first half hour, with little in the way of clear-cut chances for either side.

But Durham forward Galloway broke the deadlock on 34 minutes, pouncing on the rebound after Hepple’s shot ricocheted off the bar.

Lambert doubled the visitors’ advantage minutes later, before Hepple added her name to the scoresheet, converting a spot-kick on the stroke of half-time after Whites right-back Rebekah Bass felled Ellie Christon in the box.

With the scoreline at 3-0, the Wildcats didn’t wait long to add to their tally after the interval as Galloway tidied up a deflected shot to make it four on 51 minutes.

Aaliyah Nolan had the best chance of the game for the hosts but dragged the ball agonisingly wide when one-on-one with Durham’s untested ‘keeper, Megan Borthwick.

Lambert netted the pick of the goals next, looping a shot well beyond Joyce’s reach from outside the box.

Hepple took her chance, too, hooking the ball first-time from a throw into the far corner in the 69th minute.

Joyce prevented further damage in the dying moments of the game when, with lightning reactions, she kept out a close-range shot to deny Hepple a hat-trick and ensure the game ended 6-0.

Leeds: Joyce; Smart, Hannon (68 - Hunter), Hamill, Bass; Nolan (87 - Pearson), Danby, Smith, Hunt (75 - Soares-Martins) ; Brown, Bartup (75 - Williams).

Unused subs: Wattam, Elliot, Trickett.

Durham: Borthwick; Briggs, Lambert, Robson (87 - Hill), Hepple; Gallows, Salicki, Bradley (67 - Ayre), Christon (60 - Crosthwaite); Roberts, Brown (60 - Holmes).

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