Reading Women are set to return to the town as they face fellow Southern Region Women’s Football League side Caversham United.
The Goats have spared no expenses as they take the opportunity to create some club history in the Cup playing former Women’s Champiomsgip side Reading.
Former Goats Caitlin Levy and Sumayah Zayadi took the chance to step up a Tier when Reading elected demotion from Tier 2 to Tier 5 in the summer as the club continued to spiral under owner Dai Youngge.
Caversham have rightly decided to make a spectacle of the day as the men’s Sunday’ firsts host 116 Exiles at 10:30am in what could be classified as the undercard before the main event kicks off at 2pm when the women’s team host Reading in the First Round of the Berks & Bucks Senior Cup.
Both sides are struggling to stamp their mark on their respective divisions in the SRWFL so will no doubt be wanting to take this opportunity to be crowned the best Reading side in the county.
We caught up with Caversham Chairman, Paul Gutteridge, and Reading’s Head of Women & Girl’s Football, Emma Hopkins ahead of the event.
Paul Gutteridge, Caversham United Chairman
After running Caversham United FC for nearly ten years, I’d always hoped that one day my club would play against the club I grew up supporting – the only professional football club in Berkshire – Reading FC. Whilst it is incredibly exciting for us to finally play against Reading, the circumstances around it are really quite sad and not exactly as I’d hoped. I would have much preferred to see Caversham rise up the football period than Reading come down it, but either way, Sunday presents an opportunity we’ve long awaited.
In my mind it’s a big occasion. Over the past couple of seasons, we’ve been quite vocal on our support for Reading FC, including the Women’s side. It feels nice to be the team that get to host Reading back in Reading and hopefully it will be a draw for some of the fans and newcomers alike to come along and watch when they’re back on the doorstep rather than over in Slough. I know Arbour Park and it’s a great venue, but the location is probably not quite where fans had hoped.
Sunday is all about celebrating both clubs, supporting the teams and enjoying the occasion. I want people to come along, watch the game and enjoy it! I’ve decided to up the efforts for the occasion and get in some brilliant catering from Friends and Flavours, running a licensed bar from the pavilion thanks to Renegade Brewery and have Sloth Coffee to provide the warming drinks and treats too. There’s a matchday programme available and hopefully some Goats merch too! Reading FC Community Trust and STAR have been great in support and will be present at Mapledurham for what I hope is a memorable and enjoyable afternoon for all!
Emma Hopkins, Head of Women & Girl’s Football, Reading FC Community Trust
Preparations for the game have gone well this week, the team are in good spirits following their recent progression into the FA Cup First Round Proper. Having had to completely rebuild the squad over the summer, the first few weeks of the season have been challenging but we are starting to see the team gel and making positive improvements. The Berks & Bucks Cup is important to us as a club, we have a good record in the competition in recent years and want to continue that.
The fans have been brilliant for us this season, travelling home and away to support the girls. It means a lot to us all, especially after such a difficult few months. Hopefully we will see a few familiar faces down at Mapledurham on Sunday cheering the team on.
On a personal note, Sunday’s game is a special one for me as a former Caversham United captain. It’s a fantastic club, I can’t speak highly enough of Paul and the amazing work he does behind the scenes there, particularly raising money for numerous charities. I am still close to some of the girls, I always keep an eye on their results and hope they do well… just not for 90 minutes on Sunday!
