Ashridge Park are set to make their debut in the Adobe Women’s FA Cup this weekend and Abi caught up with Duncan Owen ahead of an historic tie as they welcome Banbury United to Cantley Park in the First Round Qualifying of the prestigious competition.
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FA Cup debut
The 2023/24 season saw Ashridge Park make their debut in Division One of the Thames Valley Counties Women’s Football League finishing an impressive third place bagging 46 points and winning fifteen of their 20 fixtures.
Tier Seven teams are welcome to apply for the FA Cup when playing in the top division of their respective league and Owen alluded to the ambitions of the squad, “The players and coaching staff are an ambitious bunch and were keen to keep progressing and having the opportunity to take part in the FA Cup was the natural next step for the group”.
Noting also that it shows the pathway the ambitions they can strive for at the club, “It’s also a great step in the right direction for us as a club – the development of our pathway for girls and women’s football at Ashridge Park has been important to us for some time, so for the players in our junior age groups to have something like this to aspire to is hugely important and something we’re all really excited about”.
Competition ambitions
With a debut it’s only natural to be dreaming big and thinking of that Wembley arch and the Women’s Super League teams you could face down the line but Duncan is remaining humble about the club ambitions as they head into match day on Sunday 1st of September.
“It sounds like an awful cliché but we’re just going to take it one game at a time! Some of the girls are already dreaming of a trip to Arsenal in the latter stages, so we’ll just have to see what happens!”
Related: 2024/25 Adobe Women’s FA Cup round dates and prize funds
Squad thoughts
A buzz around the squad as they get ready to bring the FA competition to Cantley is as expected and their fortunate to have some previous partakers involved, “The girls are absolutely buzzing. We’re very fortunate to have a great mix of experienced players who’ve played in the competition before and young players experiencing the competition for the first time but everyone is extremely excited and can’t wait to get cracking”.
Its understandably had a knock-on effect as they ramp up efforts ahead of the First Round Qualifying game as Duncan confirms, “The intensity levels at training have definitely gone up a notch as everyone is keen to be part of the line up on the 1st of September.”
The opponents, Banbury United
Banbury United were a struggling side last season so Ashridge will no doubt be quietly confident in their efforts, “Banbury are a team we know well having been in the same division as them last season.” having registered a 3-0 away win in the last game of the season.
But Ashridge are no fools to their opponents, “It’s the FA Cup, so we know full well they’ll be up for it – we’ll have to be at the top of our game, but we’re confident that if we play to the best of our ability we can get a positive result.” as the competition brings a different level of competitiveness to teams.
Related: Finchampstead at Wembley? Why a Women’s FA Trophy and Vase competition makes sense
A thank you to the club
Duncan wanted to sign off with a big appreciation to the club themselves as they make their debut in the competition, “I think we’d all like to say a massive thank you to the club for all their support over the last 12 months and for giving us the opportunity to compete in the FA Cup – we’ve seen the popularity girls and women’s football explode over the last few years and to have the opportunity as a club to do our bit has been fantastic and long may it continue!”
And of course they can’t forget the supporters and their unwavering attendance, “A big thank you to our supporters too. We’re looking forward to seeing them at Cantley Park on the 1st of September for what should be a great occasion.”
Best of luck to Ashridge Park and all our Adobe Women’s FA Cup sides competing in the First Round Qualifying this weekend.
