12th December 2020
Cheltenham Town Ladies return to action after just over a month away from football. They make the trip down to Exeter City Women tomorrow for a 1pm kick-off in the Vitality Women’s FA Cup.
Their previous fixture was as far back as November 1st, at home to Portishead Town in the Women’s FA Cup Third Qualifying Round, in a game that saw them concede an early goal, but come back strong to run out 3-1 after dominating the second half.
The Robinesses and The Grecians only met once last season, with both league games being voided by the Covid-19 pandemic. This season has also seen fixtures between the two sides scuppered by the introduction of a second national lockdown, as both teams were originally set to face each other in early November. They’re now set to face each other in league competition on January 10th.
Team News
Cheltenham are expected to field as strong a squad as possible for the return to competitive football.
The introduction of five usable substitutes could see a call up to the bench for prospect goalkeeper Molly Ripley, who was last called up against Larkhall in October.
Midfield trio Courtney Jones, Abby Bevan and Jess Hood could also see returns to the matchday squad having not featured against Portishead.
Opposition
Opening their account for the season with a 4-2 victory over Poole Town Ladies, The Grecians have had a positive run so far in the 2020/21 campaign.
They built on the good start with a massive 6-1 demolition of local neighbours Buckland Athletic, with Anthea Kaptein and Megan Robinson bagging a brace each, with extra goals from Abbie Britton and Connie Pengelly.
Following a 1–1 draw with Southampton Women and losing out 3-0 to Southampton FC, they returned to winning ways in the Vitality Women’s FA Cup against Swindon. Pengelly coming off the bench to bag a brace in six minutes.
Fate would turn against them against second-placed Chesham, as The Generals cleaned up at Speeds Meadow with an emphatic 9-3 victory.
Returning to FA Cup football, Exeter would put the drubbing behind them, as they themselves handed out a 7-0 beating to AEK Boco Ladies.
Previous Matches
The two teams have met as early as 2014/15 in the Women’s FA Cup, in a game that saw Exeter travel to The Big Local Stadium and come away with a 2-1 win.
They would meet again in 2018/19, with Exeter once more making the trip to Gloucestershire for an extremely close battle. A Sarah Walters free-kick squirming through the goalkeeper’s gloves handed Cheltenham a 1-0 win in the Third Qualifying Round as the visitors battled for everything and even had a goal disallowed for offside.
Cheltenham would face the Grecians Women in last season’s Women’s FA Cup, in a clash that saw two hattricks and a scorcher from outside the box. The fixture, played on the All Saints Academy’s 3G pitch, saw The Robinesses come out on top, 4-3, courtesy of an Annie Martin hattrick after Abby Bevan had opened the scoring after 24 minutes.
The visitors refused to roll over, despite trailing 2-0 at half time, and two Abbie Britton goals in ten minutes saw them draw level, before Martin would score two unanswered on the 61st and 75th minutes. Britton would conclude her own hattrick on the 89th minute, but time ran out on them. Cheltenham would go on to lose 1-0 at home to Leyton Orient in the next round.
Directions and Entry Prices
The Hub
Exeter College,
Ennerdale Way,
Exwick,
EX4 2BQ
Adults £3, Concessions £1.
Supporters are advised that Track And Trace protocols are in place, as well as temperature checks and social distancing.
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.
