16th November 2019
Cheltenham Town Ladies welcome Leyton Orient Women of the Women’s National League Division 1 South-East, to town this Sunday in the First Round Proper of the SSE Women’s FA Cup (1:30pm kick-off)
The Third Qualifying Round saw an end-to-end game at All Saints Academy as two even teams in Cheltenham Town Ladies and Exeter City Women battled it out to face tomorrow’s opponent – and it did not disappoint. In what was a typically dramatic FA Cup fixture, a 24th minute goal from Abby Bevan, and an Annie Martin hat-trick saw the Robins cancel out Abbie Britton’s hat-trick. The Robins coming out on top in a 4-3 scoreline to earn their place in the First Round Proper.
Following Cheltenham Town Ladies’ tight victory over Exeter in the Third Qualifying Round, manager Alex Cheal relished the prospect of facing a team from outside Division 1 South-West, but insisted his team needed to be up for the challenge.
Not long after the final whistle, he commented “we’ll take [playing against] Leyton Orient. I’d take a different team, a side we don’t know… We got there [the First Round Proper] last year, so lets go and see what next week brings… We just have to be better than we were today.”
Team News
Cheltenham Ladies stick with their strong first team squad, with changes kept to an absolute minimum.
Bec Panniers retains her spot between the sticks while Lauren Ellis, who would have missed the original fixture, returns to the side. Young striker, Holly Fenton returns to the first team after showing good form with the Development side.
Defender, Chloe Rogers, who a couple of weeks ago, returned to the matchday squad for the first time in 15 months due to a knee injury, continues her comeback by retaining her place in the side.
Opposition
The O’s have continued to build on last season’s fifth placed finish, and have looked a dangerous attacking team in 2019/20. They opened the season on August 18th against Cambridge City, coming away with a 5-1 win after three second-half goals. This was followed by a close 4-3 victory over City’s neighbours, Cambridge United in the FA WNL Cup Determining Round. They were then held to a 1-1 draw by Enfield before returning to winning ways with a comprehensive 5-0 win over Norwich.
Recent big results include a 1-0 loss to AFC Wimbledon in the league, a 6-1 loss to Portsmouth in the FA WNL Plate, a 14-0 victory over Burgess Hill Town in the Reposs Isthmian Women’s Cup and a 2-1 over Queens Park Rangers in the FA Cup 3rd Round Qualifier on October 27th.
Their most recent result, on Wednesday night, saw them scrape by bottom of the league Kent Football United with a 3-2 victory.
Past Meetings
With both teams playing in regional leagues, and then the regional levels of the FA Women’s National League, Sunday’s clash is potentially the first meeting of The Robins and The O’s.
Both teams sit comfortably in their respective divisions, Cheltenham sitting in 3rd in Division 1 South-West while Orient find themselves in 4th in Division 1 South-East. Both teams have racked up five wins, one draw and one loss in seven league games, with one other loss in cup competitions; Cheltenham losing 3-1 on the road to Billericay in the FA WNL Cup Determining Round, with Orient losing to Portsmouth in the FAWNL Cup First Round, with a scoreline of 6-1.
Directions and Entry Prices
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 programmes are available for £1 to those receiving free entry, or free of charge for paying adults.
Cheltenham Town fans are reminded that they can still gain FREE ENTRY by showing their tickets from Cheltenham’s Emirates FA Cup clash with Swindon on November 9th. Just show your match tickets on the gate to receive free entry.
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.
