SWINDON Town Women beat Poole Town 1-0 to progress into the first round of the League Cup on Sunday.

An own goal in first-half stoppage time was all Jamie Lloyd-Davies’ side needed to make it through a tricky preliminary round test against the Dorset side.

The visitors - who were much-changed for the cup tie - had the better of the first half but had to wait until the fourth minute of stoppage time to finally break the deadlock.

Sophie Mitchell was picked out in the box with plenty of time and space to set herself, with her shot coming back off the goalkeeper’s legs and rebounding into the back of the net off an unfortunate Poole defender.

Swindon dominated from the outset, with the visitors’ first shot occurring in the second minute. Captain Rianne Lewis saw a lobbed attempt from the edge of the box grabbed by the Poole keeper.

In the ninth minute, Swindon had a number of shots blocked by the Poole defence in a spot of pinball in the area, and the passage of play ended with Mitchell firing a volley wide of the far post.

Lloyd-Davis’ side continued to push for the opener, and they nearly found it in the 18th minute when Lewis crashed a shot narrowly wide.

Poole only threatened on a handful of occasions but did come close when they flashed a cross-shot across the face of goal. Fortunately for Swindon, no-one in red connected with it to give the hosts a lead.

Shortly before the break, Kaylen Gerkey hit a looping shot from 25 yards over the bar and Helena Diaz-Butcher shot wide after being played in by Lewis.

According to those in attendance, it seemed to only be a matter of time before Swindon took the lead, and the visitors did just that in the 49th minute.

The second half was a quieter affair, but Swindon started it brightly with Lewis shooting narrowly over the bar six minutes after the restart.

With Poole coming forward in search of an equaliser, Lloyd-Davies side started pushing for a second in the final five minutes as the game opened up.

Chenise Austin headed a corner over the bar with five minutes to go and Lewis had a shot saved from the edge of the box two minutes later.

Substitute Kat Bach came close twice in the final couple of minutes but she could only manage a shot over the bar, and Swindon were forced to settle for a one-goal victory.