14th September 2019
First host third for the fifth game of the FA Women’s National League Division One South West, as Cheltenham Town Ladies make the trip down to Southampton Women.
The hosts have always been a strong contender at this level, but have been unable to grasp the brass ring to reach the Southern Premier. Alex Cheal’s side will be doing everything in their power to provide another stumbling block after a couple of nail-biting matches in the last campaign.
Last season saw both teams battling for second place, with Cheltenham winning the battles, doing a double over Sunday’s opponents, while Southampton won the war, finishing second to Keynsham Town Ladies.
But manager Alex Cheal was under no illusion that things could be very different this year:
“We’re full of confidence really, we had a tough weekend at Larkhall last weekend and we knew these three fixtures away from home were always going to be tough.
We’ve just got to concentrate on ourselves, we’re mixing it with the best teams in the league and ultimately, we feel like we can compete, but this is a real bench mark for us to see where we are. We’ve done our homework and we’ve done everything we can in preparation and our due diligence on every team we go up against and we’ll see where that stands us on Sunday. But we’re confident that we’ve done everything we can to take the best result possible.
“There’s been a few comparisons to last season, but those results are totally in isolation really, we knew we rode our luck last year and implemented a game plan, but they’re in a different place and so are we, so we don’t expect them to be or do the same, nor should they expect us to just sit in and take a barrage and hopefully steal one. We’re hoping to stand up and be counted here, play more positively, and we think player for player we can match them. They have already said they want to avenge the two losses from last year but for us, it’s just a case of going there and getting a result. We can’t keep looking at last year, we need to draw a line under that and keep going again”
Team News
Goalkeeper Bec Panniers trained during the week but will not feature, with new signee Robyn Levett set to make her CTLFC debut after stand-in ‘keeper Alyta Norman’s red card against Larkhall last weekend sees her receive a single match ban.
Midfielder Georgia Brown returns from last week’s absence to rejoin the midfield.
Sam Morris and Chloe Rogers remain on the sidelines, although both are progressing with their injury recoveries.
Becky Wilkins, named among the replacements last week, will not be included in the matchday squad.
Kerry Bartlett’s treatment for an achilles injury still keeps her out of action, although there is hope that she will be available to feature in the next couple of weeks.
Opposition
After back-to-back seasons of being the bridesmaid but never the bride, finishing second to Plymouth and Keynsham respectively, Southampton Women’s FC head into Sunday’s clash at the top of the table, picking up some impressive wins in the process, including a 7-2 drubbing of Swindon Town Women and an 8-2 demolition of previous league leaders, Exeter City Women last weekend. The only team so far this season to take any points off of Sunday’s hosts, are Southampton FC, who held their neighbours to a 0-0 stalemate.
Previous meetings
In the Women’s National League, the two teams first met in the second half of the 2017/18 season.
On March 11th, at AFC Totton, Southampton Women walked away with the three points, Manuela Naprta and Kellie Warren on the scoresheet for the hosts. The return fixture would see Southampton make it a double with a 3-1 victory. Annabel Davies scoring for the home side.
Last season, a largely revamped Cheltenham side went head-to-head with Southampton Women in a top-of-the-table clash in late November, and came away with a slim 1-0 victory against the visitors. The single goal of the match coming from Annie Martin on the 76th minute.
In March, the two teams took to the field again at Blackfield & Langley FC, with Cheltenham again overcoming their opposition with a 1-0 win. The goal on this occassion coming from an own goal after Ella Hitchcox had pressured the defender into a mistake.
Address and Entry prices
Romsey Town FC
The Bypass Ground
Romsey
Hampshire
SO51 8GJ
Entrance: £4 for adults, £2 for concessions, U16’s free (when accompanied by an adult)
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.
