Luton hope to top penalties drama with FA Cup upset

Jess McKay was one of five Luton players to convert two penalty kicks in the shootout against Stevenage Women in the FA Women's Cup last weekend

It was not the longest penalty shootout in football history, but it was certainly an experience those involved are unlikely to forget.

A total of 32 spot-kicks were needed to separate Stevenage Women and Luton Town Ladies - with the visitors coming out on top 15-14 after their FA Women's Cup tie had ended in a 1-1 draw.

Luton's reward is an away tie against Portsmouth in Havant this weekend, with the incentive of £35,000 in prize money and a place in the fourth-round draw - when Women's Super League sides enter the competition.

They reached round four a year ago before losing to Brighton & Hove Albion and are eager to extend this year's run, having already won four games to get this far.

Luton already knew they would be facing Portsmouth if they beat Stevenage as the second-round game had to be put back for seven days because of bad weather.

"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," joint manager Myles Maddix told BBC Sport.

But there is a small matter of a three-tier gap to overcome if Luton are to progress - they are second in the Premier Division of the Eastern Region League, while Pompey play in the Championship.

And the fact that the home side are bottom of the Championship with only one point from nine games, having been promoted last season, does not affect Maddix's thinking ahead of Sunday's match.

"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 said.

"We want to challenge ourselves against the best and would relish playing another WSL team [if we win] - home or away."

Luton fell behind in the game against Stevenage last weekend, but a 20-yard shot into the top corner by Amber Leighton levelled the scores and that was the way it stayed until the final whistle.

In the shootout, after 10 successful penalties by both sides, it looked like Stevenage would progress to round three when Luton's Tanya Blacksley had her kick saved.

But goalkeeper Sarah Hudson - who had scored Luton's 10th penalty - denied Lauren Reeves and a few minutes later became the match-winner when she dived to her right to save from Hannah Nebbitt.

Luton Town Ladies joint manager Myles Maddix (right) is looking forward to the challenge of his team facing Portsmouth

"I have never seen anything like it in my life, it was extraordinary," Maddix said.

"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.

"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."

Joyous celebrations began when Hudson made the decisive save, but she found it a slightly painful experience.

"One of our other players went to give Sarah a big hug," Maddix added. "And she ended up with a bit of a nosebleed. The physio had to patch her up - but we were all overjoyed."

Something for Hudson to avoid in the Portsmouth game if it goes to penalties.