Cambridge United through to FA Women's National League Plate quarter-finals after win over Charlton Athletic Academy

Cambridge United manager Darren Marjoram has hailed the defensive solidity that his side showed during their 1-0 win over Charlton Athletic Academy in the FA Women's National League Plate on Sunday.

Isabella Simmons’ 13th-minute goal was enough for the U’s to book their place in the last eight of a competition in which they finished runners-up last term.

However, they had to soak up some pressure from their visitors – particularly during the latter stages of the tie.

Marjoram said: “It was a tough battle, especially later in the game when Charlton changed to a 3-4-3 and they’ve gone quite direct, which you would expect them to do at 1-0 down and they’re chasing the game.

“We’ve had to really suck it up, but that’s what I like about us at the moment. When we don’t have the ball we’re pretty organised, we’re pretty solid and we’re resilient.

“When the moments get tough we’ve got some characters out there now that know how to handle those moments.

“The performance from start to finish was good. There was plenty of moments that we can work on of course, but we’re a work in progress still, we’ve still got plenty to go.

“But if you can see our development over the last three or four weeks in particular, it’s looked really good.”

Simmons’ goal came from a corner that was delivered into the box by Eva Hubbard.

And the set-piece route is one that Cambridge have found to be particularly profitable this term.

Marjoram added: “Set-pieces are something we’ve identified. They’re good areas where potentially you can win a game, like we showed today.

“In tight games it can be a set-piece that wins you it.

“We had some conversations yesterday backwards and forwards, just little details about what we do and changes we might make.

“Set-pieces are working out really well for us.”

United will next be in action on 3 November when they host Norwich City in the first round of the Women’s FA Cup.