19th December 2020
After last week’s penalty heroics, The Robinesses will close out the year at home as they welcome league leaders, Southampton FC to Tewkesbury School (12pm). Supporters are reminded that this game is to be played behind closed doors – supporter access is not allowed at request of the venue.
The Robinesses come into this fixture off the back off of an edge-of-your-seat encounter that saw Billie Haynes open the scoring on the 32nd minute before Exeter pulled level from an Abbie Britton penalty on the 90th minute. Cheltenham would respond immediately and put the ball in the net but Abby Bevan’s strike was ruled out after Lauren Kayll was adjudged offside.
The game would remain level through extra time before a good Robyn Levett save and Exeter striking over the bar with their final kick saw the Gloucestershire side progress to face Portsmouth in the Second Round.
After enduring 120 minutes of football in their first game back after six weeks off, manager Tom Davies, acknowledged his staff would need to make adjustments to their preparations.
“We’ll change our week slightly and make sure we’re looking after players and giving them the information to need to look after themselves.” he told the club’s media team after the Exeter game.
“Like I said, it’s an extra 30 minutes, they know they’ve pushed and we’ll just focus on a few other things rather than the fitness aspect. We’ll prepare as normal, we’ll go into that game and give it our best shot.”
Team News
The Robinesses are expected to field another strong team as they welcome the Saints to Gloucestershire.
Jade Grove may also see a return after leaving the Exeter game last week due to an injury. Young winger Sarah King may also see a return to the squad after an impressive display off the bench in the Women’s FA Cup game.
Manager Tom Davies is playing his cards close to his chest and may have a change or two to make after his side endure over 120 minutes of football last weekend.
Opposition
League leaders Southampton FC are seemingly destined for the FA Women’s National League Southern Premier as they’ve pick up exactly where they left off at the abrupt end of 2019/20.
With no problem finding the net this season, Saints racked up 16 of their 39 goals in all competitions in the first three fixtures, with 5-1 wins, back-to-back over Poole Town Ladies and Buckland Athletic Women respectively, followed by a 6-0 pummelling of their local rivals Southampton Women.
With Ella Pusey in good form, hitting the net 13 times in all competitions already this season, results before the lockdown saw Saints qualify for the First Round Proper in the Vitality Women’s FA Cup in style with an 11-0 drubbing of Helston Athletic and a 4-0 victory over Ilminster. Last weekend, they returned to action, qualifying for the Women’s FA Cup Second Round by beating AFC Bournemouth Women 5-0.
Previous Meetings
The two clubs only faced off once last season, with Cheltenham making the trip down to AFC Totton to face dominant league leaders, Southampton FC, who came out on top in a 4-0 drubbing.
Three goals in fifteen minutes saw Cheltenham up against it, as Sievwright (’26) and Pusey (’30) gave the Saints the advantage before Whitton sealed the deal on the 41st minute. A stronger second half saw Cheltenham compete but were unable to find a way through the host’s defence, before a final Rachel Panting strike 4 minutes into injury time put the exclamation point on an emphatic win.
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.
