31st October 2020
By Bruna Reis
Charlotte Criddle ahead of the FA Cup Third Qualifying Round: “We’re in good spirits going forward into Sunday.”
The Women’s Vitality FA Cup is back in action this weekend as Cheltenham Town Ladies welcome Portishead Town behind closed doors at Tewkesbury School on Sunday with kick-off at 2:45pm.
Goals from Billie Haynes, Alice Kempski and Charlotte Criddle in a 3-0 victory against Brislington secured a place in the Third Qualifying Round.
The midfielder, Criddle has become a fans favourite with her technical ability in scoring four free-kicks so far this season that have led her team to victory many times this season.
Scoring a fifth goal in her sixth game on Sunday to send Tom Davies’ team through to the next round of the FA Cup would have a special meaning for her.
“Obviously it’ll be fantastic, we know how much the FA Cup means to us and we know there’s money riding on it which will be a massive positive for the club. We’ve all been rallying around, obviously times are hard at the moment so we know how important that would be. As long as scoring is going to help us win that’s all that matters really, it doesn’t matter if you score but don’t win.”
However, the Ladies’ manager, Tom Davies acknowledged that it will be tough to annul Portishead Town’s impressive run of late.
“We played them in pre-season, it was our first game. They’ve had a lot of changes since then, they’ve had a lot of back-to-back fixtures and been on a really good run, winning five out of five.
“We know it’s going to be a tough game. We know they’re going to work hard, they’re excited and confident for this game so we’ve just got to make sure we turn up and do everything that we need to do to come out with a positive result.”
Criddle believes team morale and confidence levels are high ahead of the match and is optimistic the Gloucestershire side will give a good account in extending their winning record.
“It’s obviously high and that’s helped by a win, we’re all feeling good, we’ve got everybody back in this weekend so we’re in good spirits going forward into Sunday and places are gonna be hard to get for the starting line up on Sunday so we’re giving our best.
“We might get far but it’s a good occasion, everybody enjoys it so we’ll all be looking forward to it.”
Following Sunday, the focus returns to the FA Women’s National League Division 1 South West in the home fixture against Exeter with kick-off scheduled for 2pm on November 8.
