Women’s team FA Cup journey comes to an end
On Sunday 13th October, over 300 supporters gathered at the Easy As HGV Stadium in Fleet to support Fleet Town FC Women and Dulwich Hamlet FC ladies in their third round qualifying match of the Adobe Women’s FA Cup.
With only a month under their belts of playing in the tier 6 Southern Region Women’s League, and set to play a National League team two leagues above, Fleet Town were coming into the match as underdogs. The expectation was to enjoy the experience and learn as much as possible from playing a more experienced side.
From the first whistle, the strength and speed of the Dulwich Hamlet team was apparent, initially putting our girls on the back foot. A quick goal in the first few minutes from an excellent header showed what we were up against. However our team rose to the challenge, soon winning back the ball and creating a few of our own chances, including one potential penalty that unfortunately wasn’t given.
The remainder of the first half saw a few more chances for Fleet, however Dulwich were fast on the break and made use of their speed on the wing. A third Dulwich goal prompted a reshuffle on the pitch, with Isabella Moffett employed as a foil for their dangerous number 11 and shoring up our defensive line. Overall Fleet had much of the possession, and goalkeeper Chloe Harper made some impressive saves, but Dulwich was nevertheless able to score two two further goals – one from a corner and another fast follower from a super set of passes that caught us off-guard.
Out for the second half and Fleet came out with fighting spirit and a revised formation, with Isabella Moffett moving to the centre, Elin Roberts moving to the back to keep pace with the Dulwich forwards and Isabella O’Connor joining Gina Saltykova in midfield.
However Dulwich quickly showcased their strengths, scoring a sixth goal from a beautiful series of passes. Fleet were not without their chances, however we couldn’t close the gap, and despite another couple of brilliant saves from Chloe Harper the final score was 0-7.
Commenting on the match, Fleet Town FC Women Team Manager, Craig Hayman, said: “We were playing a National League side, levels above where we are. I think 7-0 didn’t really reflect the game – we really could have scored three in the first half. But the girls have learned a lot from the game and we’ve done well getting to this stage. They gave 150% from start to finish, didn’t give up, and I’m really proud of their performance.”
We’d like to thank everyone who came out to support the team for our Women’s FA Cup campaign matches, and our mascots who represented the Club brilliantly. Bring on the rest of the season!