On Sunday, Actonians played arguably the biggest match in their history as they travelled to Shepherds Bush to play local rivals QPR at Loftus Road in a crucial FAWNL Cup group stage game.

There have been many great matches between these two in recent years but none had been given such an illustrious stage.

Interest in the game was considerable with many new fans going to watch both sides for the first time, meaning the pressure to impress was significant.

The teams had last met only five weeks before in the league, with the A's running out comfortable 3-0 winners in Bedfont.

QPR parted company with their manager shortly afterewards and they had gone unbeaten coming into this match.

However, in the intervening time, the Actonians line-up had become noticebly stronger too with Kat Turner returning from injury and new signings Phoebe Williams and Ruby Murphy joining the squad as well. It was also pleasing to see Liv McGregor back on the bench after her injury in pre-season and new signing Melina Hamm was named among the substitutes.

Striker Sammy Rowland made her first start since signing for the club in the summer. Veteran defender Jennie Brereton also began a match for the first time since that 3-0 win in August as boss Jason Stephens went with a back four which also included Olivia Clement, Viv Ruettgers and the aforementioned Turner.

QPR created the first chance of the game with striker Shannon Albuery forcing an early corner but it was soon to go very wrong for the hosts.

Moments later, a break down the right by Steph McCaffrey ended with Abigail Kargbo bundling home from close range to give Actonians a 1-0 lead in the third minute.

Five minutes later it was 2-0 when captain Wiktoria Fronc fired a superb long-range effort over the despairing dive of goalkeeper Simone Eligon into the top corner.

At this point A's fans could hardly believe their eyes but the R's continued to attack and it was Albuery who managed to force the ball home on 23 minutes after a goalmouth scramble.

However, any immediate thoughts of a comeback were wrestled away just three minutes later when Emily Donovan was sent off for pulling Kayra Karakus' hair, leaving QPR with only 10 players for three quarters of the game.

Ruettgers hit the bar with a free-kick in the closing minutes of the half but it remained 2-1 to Actonians at the interval.

To progress to the next round of the FAWNL Cup, the A's would need to win this match so making use of their extra player to get that result in the second half was absolutely crucial.

Stephens opted to stick with the same line-up for the start of the second 45 minutes and that important third goal arrived on 54 minutes.

Rowland burst into the box and sent a low drive towards the far corner which was superbly blocked by Eligon only for the rebound to fall nicely for Kargbo who netted her second of the game.

It should have been plain sailing for Actonians at this point but just over 10 minutes later it was 3-2 when Albuery bundled home another close-range effort after the A's defence had failed to clear.

As players began to tire, Ruby Murphy and Kendra Brown joined the action as Karakus and Rowland made way.

With the game moving into its final 15 minutes, the A's won a corner which QPR failed to deal with and Turner found the corner with a low effort from just inside the area.

The game was effectively over a minute later when a low ball across the box found Brown at the far post who sent an exquisite effort back across goal into the top corner to make it 5-2 on 75 minutes.

To their credit, the hosts continued to push and were rewarded with a third goal when Ellie Searle lobbed home from long range in the 90th minute.

They almost had a fourth in injury time only for a superb recovery tackle from substitute Liv McGregor who sprinted from near enough the halfway line to intervene and deny the chance - epitomising the spirit this Actonians side had shown all afternoon.

The match finished 5-3 to make it two derby wins for the A's in a matter of weeks.

Many young fans stayed to meet the players at the final whistle and hopefully a lot of them will be back to watch future games in what could be Actonians' most successful season ever.

POTM - Abigail Kargbo. The young striker has worked tirelessly this season, pressing relentlessly and hardly missing a minute of any match. Despite this, she only had one goal to her name so for her to get a brace on such a big occasion was just reward for all her efforts.

Report by James Doe