Unfortunately, Sunday saw Berkshire’s Southern Region Women’s Football League clubs FA Cup runs come to an end as all three clubs were knocked out in the First Qualifying Round.
Our Women’s Football Correspondent, Abi Ticehurst, spoke to the managers post-match to get their thoughts on the team’s cup runs. Darrel Evans of Ascot United, Andy Vettese, an assistant coach at Tilehurst Panthers and Marc Surtees of Woodley United.
Ascot United made an earlier exit than past performances having entered the cup three times and reached the 2nd qualifying round each time. Manager Darrel had the following to say, “We are disappointed to go out the Cup but we lost to the better team on the day and we wish the best of luck to Denham United in the next round. The players were disappointed but we could not of asked for any more from them. Again we would like to thank the 120 plus crowd for coming out to watch the game on a wet, cold miserable afternoon. Now our attention turns to our league campaign which kicks off next weekend.”
Tilehurst Panthers entered the cup for the first time this year. Of their performance, Andy said “Tilehurst Panthers short run in the FA Cup came to an end on Sunday with a 2-0 defeat by Eastbourne Football Club. It was a spirited display from the Panthers but a slow start eventually cost them with both goals conceded in the opening 20 mins. That said, a perfectly good goal disallowed with the score at 0-0 and a missed penalty just before half time could have made it a very different story. The second half, in particular, demonstrated the character of the Tilehurst team as the game became a very even encounter despite Eastbourne playing two tiers above Tilehurst and their experience, strength and significant age difference being a factor. Ultimately, we can walk away from the game with our heads held high although perhaps a hint of disappointment that it took 20 minutes for us to really get up to the pace of the game. There were welcomed comments from the Eastbourne players and coaching staff at the end of the game. They knew they had been in a tough match and clearly had huge respect for a team with an average age of 17 giving them such a run for their money.”
Woodley United entered the FA Cup for the first time last year and reached the First Round Qualifying, so it’s a case of deja vu sadly for the team this year, manager Marc had the following to say on the team’s performance, “We were very disappointed in the manner in which we lost. As a team, we did not perform the way we can do and to lose the way we did was hard to take. Fulham were a good side, they moved the ball around well and the player movement was really good. We were 1-0 at half time and had managed to contain Fulham and create a couple of chances. We started the second half well after we changed our formation but we could not take our chances and Fulham punished us. After the second goal went in I think our heads dropped and then we conceded three more goals in the last 11 minutes. If we had played as we can do the scoreline would have been closer and could possibly have been in our favour but it was not meant to me. We now have to focus on the league which starts this weekend.”
Women’s FA Cup First Round Qualifying results:
Ascot United LFC 0-3 Denham United Ladies FC
Eastbourne Town LFC 2-0 Tilehurst Panthers LFC
Fulham FC Women 5-0 Woodley United LFC
We look ahead to the Second Qualifying Round now as Maidenhead United Women make their first appearance in the cup for the 2020/21 season – the draw is here. Meanwhile, Reading FC Women will enter at the Fourth round qualifying.
