Helston Athletic’s Women’s FA Cup dream is over for another year after they were beaten 11-0 by Southampton FC Women in their second qualifying round tie at Kellaway Park.

Rachel Panting scored four goals for the Hampshire club, who play in the FA Women's National League Division 1 South West – some three divisions above Helston – and are affiliated with the men’s Premier League team.

Ella Pusey, Shannon Sievwright and Alisha Ware all added two goals each, with Georgia Freeland completing the comprehensive victory as Helston's debut FA Cup campaign ended in a heavy defeat, although Paul Parfitt's side will certainly be able to look back on their run with pride.

Helston came into the game off the back of exciting victories over Saltash United and Royal Marine Plymouth – with the latter ranked two divisions above them – and held their own against their highly-fancied opponents in the opening stages of the tie in Cornwall, with Sasha Sparkes and Katy Barker-Thomas looking the most likely attacking outlets for the Blues.

But the balance of the game soon changed once the Saints had their first goal in the 15th minute. It took a fine finish to do so, with Pusey laying the ball off to Sievwright, who curled the ball into the corner from the edge of the box.

Pusey was becoming a thorn in the home defence’s collective side as she fired over the bar before team-mate Kelly Snook’s cross-shot struck Kizzy Tarrant’s crossbar.

The second goal duly arrived in the 26th minute and it was Pusey who grabbed it, taking the ball past Tarrant and tapping it in on the line.

Helston tried to respond through Sparkes, who raced to meet Alice Rae’s super ball but was thwarted by the linesman’s flag, deeming the former to have been marginally offside.

Less than a minute had elapsed before the Saints were celebrating at the other end again, with Georgia Freeland spying the opportunity to lob Tarrant from the edge of the box and doing so with aplomb.

Shannon Albuery tried to do the same shortly before the break, but her effort dropped narrowly wide as the Blues defended doggedly to keep the score to three at half-time.

The pattern at the start of the second mirrored the first with neither side managing to make an impression on goal, barring a dangerous cross from Sparkes at one end and Albuery’s tame shot at the other.

But, like in the first 45 minutes, a Southampton goal arrived roughly quarter of an hour into the half, with Panting on hand to slot into an empty net after Tarrant failed to clear her lines.

There was barely enough time to consider whether that goal ended the tie as a contest before Panting popped up with another less than 60 seconds later to effectively rubber-stamp the Saints’ progression.

Ware got in on the act in the 71st minute to fire in a fine cross from close range, before Pusey bagged her second of the game and her side’s seventh a couple of minutes later, slotting into the net from a tight angle.

The hosts had their best chance of the half moments later when a cross found Rae in the centre of the box, but she was quickly crowded out by the two Saints centre-halves.

The Saints continued to show their class at the other end and added another four goals in the final ten minutes. The first of which saw Panting complete her hat-trick, with the striker meeting a sublime pass and stroking it into the bottom corner.

Ware then notched her second from close range in the 84th minute before Panting took the score into double figures with a lovely finish into the far corner.

The accolade of the final goal fell to the woman who scored the first, with Sievwright's free-kick taking a handy deflection to find its way past Tarrant with the final action of the match.

Helston: K Tarrant, C Demouy, S Sparkes-Bond, E Brewer, G Sweet, G Lane, D White, A Locke, S Sparkes, K Barker-Thomas, A Rae. Subs: E Full, N Marable, C Sparkes-Bond, J Sweet, B Woods, K Yould, J Sneddon, C Bland, R Hannaford.