It’s FA Cup weekend and Charlton have a real chance of making the quarter finals. A trip to Oxford United, who play at Oxford City’s ground, is in store (Sunday, 2pm kick-off)
Oxford play in the Women’s National League South, one tier below the WSL2. The U’s sit fourth in a division led by Watford, who Charlton defeated in the third round. In fact, Oxford played against Watford on the 8th February and came out 4-3 victors to extend their winning streak to seven matches. They hosted Bournemouth on Wednesday and were 1-0 victors.
The Addicks were also in action on Wednesday, following up the weekend's 4-2 victory against Durham with a 1-1 draw against WSL2 strugglers Ipswich. The Durham game saw some uncharacteristic errors defending set pieces but the four scored at the other end will have given confidence to Karen Hills’ side. Lucy Fitzgerald scored her fourth goal in three games with Karin Muya, Gillian Kenney and Katie Lockwood also on the scoresheet. Kenney got a well deserved start and earned her goal with her consistent work rate. The less said about the Ipswich game the better apart from the fact that Kenny's late equaliser extended the unbeaten league run to 26 games.
Charlton have often struggled against teams they should expect to beat but Ipswich match aside seem to have turned a corner since the new year. The Swindon match in the previous round of the FA Cup was always likely to be a strong win but victories against Durham and Sheffield United have shown that The Addicks are getting more streetwise.
Ultimately, Charlton are expected to win this fixture and we'll be hoping that form prevails rather than any cup upset. It may be a banana skin but it is also a fantastic opportunity for our team to go deep in the FA Cup and test themselves against a WSL side this season.
Aside from our own match, the format of the Adobe Women's FA Cup in coming seasons has been in the news, with leaked reports of potential seeding of the top four teams from the WSL and the draw from the last 32 onwards taking place in one go. Some of the suggestions seem to go against the traditions that fans hold dear about the FA Cup. For now the FA have confirmed that there will be no changes implemented next season to allow more time for consultation. CAST welcomes the FA listening to feedback and slowing the process. We will input to the FA's ongoing consultation via the Football Supporters' Association.
Photo by Danni Fairbairn