20th April 2022
Report by Jamie Cameron
The Robins made it two trophies in three days as they beat Almondsbury Ladies 3-0 to win the Gloucestershire FA Women’s Trophy at Oaklands Park.
After sealing the Women’s National League Division One South West title on Sunday, Cheltenham eased to victory against their sixth-tier opponents to claim another trophy.
The first two goals came from the penalty spot against a stubborn Almondsbury side, with Charlotte Criddle and then Lacy-Jai Liggett converting from 12 yards.
Georgie-Marie Barbour-Gresham (pictured) completed the win in added time to finish off an incredible season for the Robins.
With such a quick turnaround between games, manager Tom Davies made six changes from the team that beat Chesham at the weekend.
Holly Reed, Lois Colley and Holly Rogers were among those coming into the side, while only two substitutes were named, Liggett and Sammy Hallsworth.
In the early stages, Rogers and Tamzin Hayward both came close as Cheltenham looked to make their mark on the final.
Town had plenty of possession, but had to wait until the 18thminute for the breakthrough when the Almondsbury ‘keeper brought Rogers down, and Criddle converted coolly from the spot.
Abby Bevan almost doubled the lead, but her effort was tipped onto the post, before Ellie Walecki had a shot blocked after a nice pull-back from Billie Haynes.
In the final minutes before half-time, Barbour-Gresham and Reed had strikes from range that didn’t really threaten a second goal, before Barbour-Gresham had a header from a corner saved.
The teams went in at the break with Cheltenham leading by a solitary goal, and Almondsbury had a great chance to level 10 minutes into the second half, but the shot was straight at Aimee Watson.
Haynes and Rogers both had efforts on target, but the second goal eventually came on 69 minutes as the referee gave a foul on Liggett inside the area and she got up to slot home the penalty.
Substitute Liggett made a real impact off the bench and created several other chances for the Robins to seal the win.
They did get a third in injury time as Barbour-Gresham’s header dropped in after a mistake from the ‘keeper.
Another trophy was a fitting way to finish a fantastic season for the Robins, who can go into their first-ever campaign at tier three confidently.
Cheltenham: Watson, Colley (Hallsworth 46), Butler, Barbour-Gresham, Walecki, Criddle, Reed, Bevan (Liggett 46), Haynes, Rogers, Hayward.
