DUDLEY United Ladies are turning their attention to winning the league after suffering penalty heartbreak in the County Cup.

Andy Mulligan’s side lost to Coventry City Development after staging a heroic fightback from 3-0 down to take the game to extra-time.

They went out 3-2 on spot kicks, a result Mulligan felt was unfair on his side.

He said: “We are gutted. We made a terrible start to the game and left ourselves with a mountain to climb but then played some great football.

“We were back to the sort of form we showed before Christmas but couldn’t grab the winner.”

Mulligan hopes his players will take out their frustration on Knowle this Sunday as they return to action in the West Midlands Regional League Division One South.

United sit second in the table, ten points behind leaders Birmingham Athletic but with five games in hand and a far superior goal difference.

Mulligan believes the league will now become a three-way shootout involving his side, Leamington and Coventry.

He said: “Birmingham Athletic have started to stumble, they have lost their manager since they played us last and I think we will see them fall away from now on.

“The fact is that if we win the majority of our games we will be champions.

“We have big games coming up against teams near the top, if we win those we will really be in the driving seat.

“The girls feel cheated after Sunday, we had a poor game and Coventry have caught us at a good time twice this season now.

“If we play like we did in the second half when we face them again we will rip them apart.”