This weekend, Barclays Women’s Super League sides entered the most historic competition in England, the Adobe Women’s FA Cup at the fourth round stage.
It is often the moment that the wider footballing world takes notice of the cup, given the high profile talent on show. The modern game has come a long way, it was only twenty years ago that the sole women’s match shown live on TV was the FA Cup final. Many that love the game now look back fondly on those finals as their first experience of women’s football.
Fast forward to present day and one of the understandable bugbears of this weekend is the righteous indignation that we cannot watch every match of the fourth round live. It is a stark contrast which reflects the progress made, as much as there is more needed.
One of the few negatives of that progress is the diminished importance of the FA Cup, the people’s cup. That is an adversity that is not exclusive to the women’s game, gone are the days when the FA Cup coverage started on BBC at the crack of dawn and ended in the early evening.
The magic is remains though even if it is harder to see in a more saturated world of football competitions and access. The Halfway Line took this weekend to prove that the magic is alive and well.
A spark of magic at Kingsmeadow?
Anyone looking for a shock in this weekend’s FA Cup action would have found themselves disappointed. Chelsea dispatched of Crystal Palace at Kingsmeadow 5-0, playing some irresistible football at times.
Central to that play were four of Chelsea’s old guard Millie Bright, Guro Reiten, Sam Kerr and Erin Cuthbert. Reiten was rampant on the wing, Cuthbert was visionary in the middle, Bright mastered the air in both boxes while Kerr returned to her clinical best.
The Halfway Line heard from Chelsea’s Scottish midfield dynamo Cuthbert after the match asking her about that relationship with the old guard,
“We’ve been together for a long time” Cuthbert said.
“We’ve had some brilliant, brilliant moments, and I’ve really, really enjoyed all the time that we’ve had. You know, I think the last time we played together or started together was like two years ago.
“So I’ll never take the time for granted. So yeah, we spoke about it before the game, just saying, let’s just enjoy it and put our best foot forward.”
Cuthbert told The Halfway Line “listen, you know, it’s no secret, I love playing my friends” what is more magic than that?
On the other end of the scale, with Cuthbert and co having huge experience only matched by their success, young players found a way into the mix. Chloe Sarwie came off the bench to make an appearance, a bright talent Sonia Bompastor clearly thinks highly of. After the match she joined her family on the touchline, rifling through the matchday programme with a smile stretching across her face as she pointed out certain passages or pictures to her family. A youthful exuberance we can all recognise, one synonymous with the cup.
Another youngster who entered the fray for Chelsea in the second half, Lexi Potter, played for Palace last term on loan. After replacing Cuthbert in the second half, she was serenaded as she jogged onto the pitch, ‘We want our Lexi back! We want our Lexi back!’ rang the chants from the visiting fans. It was a wholesome moment of appreciation for a young footballer with a bright future.
The Palace fans did not stop there, they also provided backing vocals for the legendary Chelsea fan, Basil. But the cherry on top came after the treble holders’ £1 million signing Alyssa Thompson had found the net for Chelsea’s fifth. The Eagles faithful, undeterred, retorted, “We’re gunna win 6-5! We’re gunna win 6-5!” Needless to say they did not but they did epitomise the spirit of the competition with dry English wit.
The FA Cup in full flow at Bauvill Stadium
Take a short trip outside of London and you’ll find Chatham, a quaint town in Kent home to Chatham Town FC or as they are playfully known the Chats. Chatham were facing York City, hoping to make the fifth round of the FA Cup for the first time.
Prior to kick off the crowd bubbled with excitement. A smell of cooked onions wafted through the air, little girls excitedly ran around the concourse in Chatham Town kits while the Rocky theme played over the stadium speakers, this was the FA Cup alright. With the team news in, twin sisters Amelia and Madison Woodgate started on the right side of the pitch for Chatham Town and Ellie Jeffkins captained the side in the absence of long term captain Grace Coombs.
Within minutes Chatham Town had scored and it was their stand in captain Ellie Jeffkins who had the goal, firing in direct from a corner. Amelia Woodgate then stole the show, scoring twice off the right wing to put the tie to bed.
That was not before York City’s goalkeeper Rebecca Sidwell pulled off heroics to keep the score respectable. Keith Boanas, the head coach of Chatham Town is also the head coach of the England colleges team and he knows Sidwell. Boanas told The Halfway Line post match,
“Rebecca [Sidwell] played for me a couple of years ago” Boanas said
“We won a tournament out in Italy. So I knew she’d have a good game. She’s a good young kid as well, attitude wise, and I knew she would do well. So, you know, gutted that she’s at the end of the road [in the FA Cup] in a certain way.”
The stories in this famous old competition are everywhere if you are willing to look for them. Chatham Town made history making it into the fifth round of the FA Cup for the first time and a litany of exciting opponents await in the hat for the next round.
Boanas has made the women’s FA Cup final four times before, even winning the competition in 2005. His vice-captain that day? Current Charlton head coach Karen Hills and after her side’s 10-0 win at the valley, the two could face each other in the next round. Perhaps Arsenal, as Boanas described them to The Halfway Line “my old nemisis at Charlton” could be the next obstacle for Chatham? Or maybe Manchester City would be fitting, Boanas was Estonia manager when Andree Jeglertz was in charge of Finland and the two know each other well. But who does Boanas want? He told The Halfway Line after the match, the answer was simple, “I’m a Manchester United fan” Marc Skinner’s side await in the hat.
The Halfway Line also spoke with Chatham Town’s Lottie Sharp who told us who she wants in the next round of the women’s FA Cup,
“I am a lifelong Chelsea supporter” Sharp grinned.
“So I really, really want Chelsea. Hopefully at home, imagine Chelsea at home it would be amazing. I’m definitely fan girling if that happens!”
Sharp was a constant threat on the left wing for Chatham, nabbing a sublime assist for their second goal for player of the match Amelia Woodgate. Sharp had been quizzed in the quick fire questions segment of the programme pre-match [another FA Cup staple] naming Messi, Fran Kirby and… Albert Einstein as her dream dinner party guests.
York City dreamers
York City’s Katie Astle, FA Cup player of the round for round three told Carrie Dunn of She Kicks last week that this was the first overnight trip she had ever had as a footballer. Sometimes the cup can be a spotless, streak-free window to another world. One that gives the taste of what life as a professional footballer would be.
Sometimes on less glamourous notes, the cup can bring you crashing to earth. For York the latter was also true in an overwhelming first half that saw the Minister Belles go in at half time 3-0 down.
York City’s merry band of followers remained resolute, family, friends and supporters could be heard throughout but especially in the second half, rattling off support for their side that dug deep. York were able to avoid conceding in the second period in an improved second half showing.
After the match a few of York City’s best performers spoke with The Halfway Line. They were Niamh Doody, a diminutive midfielder with great close control, Ruby Watt, a second striker with impressive hold up play and Rosie Bell a no nonsense, pacey full back. Despite their disappointment, there was also excitement and laughter, an air of something special that the cup conjured up.
Watt, who came off the bench in the second half in a much improved showing from York City summed it up perfectly,
“It’s like we’re on a high, even though we’ve lost 3-0. It’s the FA Cup, isn’t it? So to get this far, it’s a big achievement.”
Under the spell of the FA Cup
Whether you’re watching the two lowest ranked sides left in the competition or the reigning champions, the FA Cup’s entertainment value is unquestionable. If you still aren’t convinced, well, just tune into the Women’s FA Cup fifth round draw at 7pm tonight.
Watch out for the reaction when ball number 5, the ball belonging to fourth tier Chatham Town comes out of the hat. The magic at that point will be undeniable.
