12th October 2019
Returning visitors to Petersfield Park, Poole Town will undoubtedly be buoyed by racking up an overdue win in last week’s FA Cup qualifying round.
The Robins, on the other hand will be out to build upon last week’s impressive display in the same competition, as they ran out 5-0 winners over Brislington Ladies. Goals from Charlotte Criddle (39) Georgia Brown (57), Mai Butler (59), Annie Martin (81) and Kerry Bartlett (85) capping off a dominant performance, which produced a scoreline which some have argued was a long time coming.
Following the win over Brislinton, manager Alex Cheal admitted to looking at another rotation for this clash, with the Swindon game in such close proximity, but maintained his call for a professional performance to avoid a banana skin and demanded that the team improve their consistency going into what is the team’s third home game on the bounce.
Team News
Alex Cheal maintains a familiar squad with only minor changes to the team that put five past Brislington last week.
Midfielder Louise Fensome, who scored a 35 yard screamer against Maidenehad at the end of September is not included and is replaced by the returning Alice Kempski in what is anticipated as a straight swap.
Fullbacks Lauren Ellis and Kirsten Rendall are both left out, with Rendall being cup tied for the competition after appearing for Keynsham in the Determining Round.
Sarah King, absent from last week’s clash with Brislington, returns to the squad following her involvement with the England Women’s Talent Identification event.
Opposition
The Dolphins continue their transition that started last season and have found the going tough in the early months of the campaign.
They opened the season at the DN Fire Stadium in a losing effort to the Robins, before taking on Southampton Women in the FA WNL Cup determining round, falling 2-0 to the hosts. This was followed by a 7-1 hammering at home to Exeter who were topping the league table at the time.
Their last outing at the start of this month saw them taking on Winchester City Flyers in the SSE Women’s FA Cup and picking up their first win of the campaign in a 3-2 battle. A 20th minute goal from Danielle Maidment and a Faye Hawkins brace seeing the visitors waltzing into the Third Qualifying Round
Previous Meetings
While the two teams have not met previously in the FA WNL League Cup or Plate, they have met before in the league campaigns.
After Poole picked up two wins over The Robins in 2017/18, 6-1 at St. Andrew’s FC, and 2-0 at Petersfield Park, 2018/19 would see a change of fortunes for Cheltenham.
At the end of October 2018, Cheltenham would waltz away with a 7-0 victory over the Dolphins, with Louise Fensome, Annie Martin, Georgia Brown, Ella Hitchcox and two from Rose Knuckey all hitting the back of the net.
The reverse fixture, played at Cheltenham Civil Service due to a watterlogged pitch at the DN Fire Stadium saw the home side run out with another big win. One goal a-piece from Abby Bevan and Ella Hitchcox added to Georgia Brown’s four to complete the rout.
The latest clash between the two teams, on the opening day of the 2019/20 campaign, saw Cheltenham dominate the game. An edge-of-the-area strike from Abby Bevan and a debut goal from defender Mai Butler saw them secure a 2-0 win.
Address and Entrance Price
Location: The DN Fire Stadium, off St. Peter’s Close, GL51 9DX. (Find it on Google maps here)
By car:
Turn off Tewkesbury Road onto Moors Avenue and take the first left, onto St. Peter’s Close. On St. Peter’s Close, keep left and go around the outside of the housing estate. Follow the road round and the car park and entrance to the ground are directly in front of you.
By bus:
The C, 41 and 42 buses from Cheltenham town centre all stop at The Range, or The Moors, opposite the Lexus dealership on Tewkesbury Road, both of which are a short walk from the stadium.
Entrance to the DN Fire Stadium is £2 per adult, with children, Cheltenham Town FC season ticket holders and Robins Trust members getting in for free.
Match Coverage
For real-time match coverage, follow our twitter page, @CTLadies. You can also check the club’s Facebook and Instagram for half time and full time scores.
