QPR FC Women fell to a narrow 1-0 defeat against AFC Bournemouth Women in the FA Women’s National League Cup at the Oliver Connell & Son Stadium on Sunday afternoon.
The visitors started on the front foot, enjoying the better of the early possession and creating the clearer opportunities during a lively first half.
QPR goalkeeper Kenny Clarke was called into action on several occasions, dealing well with a number of Bournemouth efforts from range.
Elena Cole forced a comfortable save with a long-range strike, while Chloe Newton went close after good build-up play involving Gemma McGuinness and Charlotte Harris.
Bournemouth continued to press and were handed a golden opportunity to open the scoring shortly before half-time when they were awarded a penalty for handball.
However, Clarke produced an excellent save from Katie James' spot-kick to keep the game level at the interval.
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After the restart, the Cherries maintained their attacking pressure, with Fran Ali making an important block to deny another effort inside the area.
The decisive moment came with just over 10 minutes left to play, as Bournemouth were awarded a controversial second penalty, converted by Kenni Thompson to put the visitors ahead.
Rangers pushed forward in search of an equaliser late on, but the visiting defence stood firm to see out the victory and progress to the next round.
Despite the defeat, Danny Harrigan’s side showed determination and defensive discipline throughout, and will look to respond positively when they return to league action next week.
The R’s now turn their attention back to the league campaign, hosting west London rivals Fulham at the Oliver Connell & Son Stadium on Wednesday 29th October (7.45pm kick-off).
QPR: Clarke, Searle (Doyle 90+2), Wellesley-Davies, Gotch, Lewin, Hill, Ali, Mehmet (Sampson 87), Leach (Munro 64), Dzyadyk (Orchard 64), Adebowale-Arimoro (D’Santos 64).