🟢 Argyle Women in FA Cup action at Home Park
Plus, reaction from both sides after Sticker's 1-0 win over Bodmin Town, and the midweek Cornwall Senior Cup results.
🟢 Argyle Women in FA Cup action at Home Park
By Colin Bradbury
Plymouth Argyle find themselves with teams in the fourth rounds of both the FA Cup and the Adobe Women’s FA Cup. While the first team travel to face Leeds United at the end of the month, Plymouth Argyle Women meet Nottingham Forest at Home Park on Sunday.
Argyle Women have never progressed further than the fourth round of the competition, having been knocked out at the same stage by Championship side Charlton Athletic in January 2022. So Argyle Women’s team manager, Ryan Perks, is excited to see how far his side can go in the competition this year.
Sunday’s opponents, Nottingham Forest, lie third in the National League Northern Premier division. Argyle play at the same level of the pyramid (in the National League Southern Premier) but Perks acknowledges that his side:
“Are behind in terms of resources and expenditure. Forest have talented players, some of whom have played in the Women’s Super League (WSL). They have greater pulling power and a lot of full-time players. It’s going to be a tough test.”
However, the manager believes that home advantage and the quality of the Theatre of Greens pitch will play to their strengths:
“It’s a big occasion on a bigger pitch. We have a lovely playing surface and we normally perform better on grass.”
Imy Crawford shoots for Argyle Women against Ipswich Town. Picture: Colin Bradbury / Cornwall Sports Media
With the big clubs entering the competition at this stage, the reward for victory on Sunday would be a place in the fifth-round draw and the prospect of facing a WSL team – the likes of Chelsea, Manchester United / City, Arsenal and Spurs. As Perks says:
“It would’ve been nice to draw a WSL club in this round, but we’ve got an even bigger chance of that if we progress to the last 16. The opportunity that would give the players would be brilliant.”
For anybody still under the illusion that the Women’s FA Cup is small beer, a reminder that last year’s Wembley final drew a crowd of more than 77,000. The financial rewards even at this stage are also considerable. Argyle Women have already scooped £49,000 from their victories in the first three rounds, and there is a further £54,000 waiting for Sunday’s winners. Perks acknowledges that the cash will make a big difference for the women’s team.
There are big changes ahead for the Argyle Women next season as well. The women’s setup currently operates under the umbrella of the Argyle Community Trust, but as of July 1, 2024, it will be fully integrated into the main club. Perks sees this as a very positive step:
“I’ll have weekly meetings with (Argyle director of football) Neil Dewsnip to discuss football operations and how the club can support me in my role. The club also has lots of expertise in terms of commercial support, for example in generating sponsorship revenue streams. While the Community Trust staff have done a superb job this year, we’re hoping to push on and generate more income to give us more resources.”
Perks also sees the restructuring having a big impact on the football side:
“One of the main areas we want to improve is to have more contact time with the players by going from two to three sessions per week. We want to make it as professional as possible without jumping the gun – we can’t go directly from semi-pro to full-time pro.
“The biggest part though will be tapping into the expertise around the club on how to grow the women’s team. Being around that on a daily rather than ad hoc basis, feeling part of the club as ‘One Argyle’, those are the big changes I expect, and I think they’ll happen quite quickly.”
He’s also going to be able to call on the experience of Argyle’s new first team coach, Ian Foster, who spent time with the Lionesses as England Senior Women’s assistant coach, working alongside head coach Phil Neville.
Another key step will be the re-introduction of the development team next season. While the age range will be primarily 16-19, the team will not compete in an age-limited league, meaning that it can also be used to give game time to first team players returning from injury.
Charlotte Whitmore greets the fans at Home Park. Picture: Colin Bradbury / Cornwall Sports Media
For members of the Green Army on the western side of the Tamar, there is added interest in Sunday’s FA Cup tie, with several Cornish players in the squad.
Imy Crawford, a midfielder from Torpoint, is in her third season at Argyle and has been made vice-captain. She scored in extra time in the FA Cup third round against Oxford United to take the tie to penalties. As Perks says:
“She has grown massively. She’s been a regular since arriving but she’s also a great character and has been fantastic for us this season. Giving her that leadership role at a relatively young age has helped and we’re over the moon at how she’s developing.”
Striker Charlotte Whitmore hails from St Austell and was the team’s top goal scorer last season. Perks says:
“Charlotte is a typical striker – she just wants to score and is hard on herself if she doesn’t even when she’s made a big contribution. She’s a good quality technical player, good with the ball at her feet and her finishing is brilliant.”
Meanwhile, globe-trotting defender, Tamsin Medd-Gill from Falmouth played for Argyle between the ages of 16-18 before going to the US on a four-year soccer scholarship. Now she’s back and Perks says:
“She got injured last Sunday so we will assess her to make a decision about the FA Cup. She’s another technically very good player and has adapted well to her new role at left back.”
Overall then, plenty of reasons to head for Home Park on Sunday to support the women on their road to Wembley.
Tickets are priced at £7 for adults, £5 for over-65s and £3 for under-18s. They are available at the Home Park Ticket Office, online at www.eticketing.co.uk/pafc/ or at the gate on the day.
🟡 Regular training ‘is the big difference’ — Sticker skipper Flack
By Tom Howe
Sticker skipper Alfie Flack has credited a recent return to regular training as a major factor in the team’s improved form of late.
Long-standing manager Steve Flack was let go in late November, with his former colleagues Richie Nancarrow (manager) and Paul Cox (coach) stepping up to take charge of a side second bottom in South West Peninsula Premier West.
Sticky started December unbeaten, with an impressive 2-1 win at home to Newquay and a goalless draw against visiting Dobwalls — two sides in the top half of the table — but went into Saturday’s clash against Bodmin Town on the back of successive losses against Truro City reserves and St Dennis.
Ovo Ememerurai's second-half tap-in was enough to earn them a 1-0 victory on a bitterly cold afternoon at Burngullow Park, leaving the management team with three wins and a draw from their opening six games and a record of more than doubling Sticker’s points tally.
“I thought we made hard work of it at times,” Flack told Cornwall Sports Media after the result against Bodmin. “We look better than we have done throughout the season, though. I thought we moved the ball quite well but the back four and the goalkeeper have kept us in it at times. Sometimes you've got to ride your luck a little bit and I think we've done that. It's a big improvement from where we've been for most of the season.
“I've spoken about it with a couple of lads and I think we were all shocked with the decision [regarding management] but I think being able to get back training, that's been the big difference. I think that over the last couple of weeks, apart from Boxing Day [against St Dennis], we have shown that. Just being able to get out on Poltair Park astro and kick the ball around, it's helped us massively.
“I think, to be honest, that's probably the biggest difference that has happened. There was a big transition in the summer, a lot of our group moved on and it's taken us however many months into the season to sort of start clicking and start gelling on the pitch. We've always been close and tight off the pitch but we haven't been able to show that on it unfortunately.
“We're getting there slowly and hopefully we can have a good last few months of the season. I think a lot of our points, well, a good 90 per cent of our points have come from home. We know our pitch, we've trained on our pitch, so that's the big difference and we know the game's always gonna be on there. We’re better being here than how we are away from home, for sure.”
Sticker’s win over Bodmin saw them leapfrog their opponents into 15th place in the table, although Town and bottom side St Dennis do have the benefit of a multitude of games in hand (four and six respectively).
When asked if their league position was reflective of their performances, Flack replied: “Probably, yeah, to be honest, I think we've been good in spells. We haven't been good for 90 minutes in matches. You know, there's been five, 10, 15 minutes here and there where we've been the better team in a few games but putting the ball in the back of the net and a lack of experience has been a challenge.”
Flack, son of departed manager Steve, stepped up his return from successive injuries when lasting an hour in Saturday’s game, playing through the middle before switching to the right after an early knock that forced Alex Hamley out of proceedings.
“I’m getting there,” he said. “I still don't trust my body. It's been like that for the last couple of years since I probably joined Sticker, to be honest. I haven't been as sharp and as fit as I wanted to be probably since I left Helston [Athletic]. If I can stay fit for the next few months and kick on then hopefully I can get a few more goals and we'll see what happens.”
🟡 Bodmin need to ‘find last ten per cent’, says England
Bodmin Town youngster Keelan England says the players need to put in ‘10 per cent’ extra to repay the faith shown in them by manager Simon Minett.
Saturday’s narrow 1-0 loss at Sticker means Town have now gone more than 15 weeks without points in South West Peninsula Premier West. They are a team struggling for goals, with only five scored in the ten games since a 3-3 draw at Camelford on September 26.
Following the unceremonious departure of manager Shaun Vincent that same month, Minett, formerly of St Dennis and Wadebridge Town, has since come in and pulled on his resources to build a youthful squad with a smattering of more experienced players.
Defeat at Burngullow Park leaves Bodmin second from bottom however, with the standings showing only a resurgent St Dennis side below them. As the old saying goes, Rome wasn’t built in a day but England isn’t underestimating the scale of the task ahead.
“It wasn't great,” he replied when asked by Cornwall Sports Media to assess his team’s performance at Sticker. “I feel like we made a few more chances but we've struggled to score. When we've got great chances, we've got to put them in the back of the net. Defensively I think we were alright but, again, silly mistakes have cost us a goal.
“That's the lead for them and that dropped our heads. I don't think we even got our heads back up after that. It was just a lacklustre game. We're a whole new bunch of lads…literally just loads of lads thrown together and we've only just started speaking to each other, really. We've got to keep going and not give up, try and get the team together a bit more and hope for the best for the rest of the season.
“I think we just want to be a good, strong team in this league. [We want to] stay up, keep doing well and put in some good performances until the end of the season. Hopefully, next season, we can get better and [focus more] on the top end of the table. I feel like [the management team] are giving us the right information but it's just that last little 10 per cent we all need to give in games to win.
“They're doing their job, aren't they? Simon's got the players he needed to get in that he thinks were right and [now] it's all down to us, I'd say. This was a game that was a must win but we dropped off and [Sticker] kind of raised their game, didn't they? Sticker are down with us as well and they had to win, and they had a better mentality than us.”
England limped off inside 25 minutes of his return to Burngullow Park — having opted to leave Sticker for Bodmin in October — and watched from the bench as former teammate Ovo Ememerurai tapped home from close range early in the second half.
“I was literally at this club at the start of the season,” reflected England. “I got hold of Simon, who wanted me over at Bodmin anyway. I wasn't too happy at this place but they are all my friends, all of the team here.
“Even my friends around where I live in St Austell will come up to watch and everything so I’m gutted I got injured. Typical, isn’t it? I've got a recurring ankle injury. I had it at the start of the season and it's not gone away yet.
“Fingers crossed it's nothing serious but I'm going to have to go to a GP or something like that and see what they say about it.”
🏆Cornwall Senior Cup quarter-finals
⚽️ Falmouth Town 3 (Sims, Grange, Barner) St Blazey 1 (Cloke)
⚽️ Newquay 5 (Cole 3, Shepherd, Tilston) Bodmin Town 3 (Eccleston 2, Munday)
⚽️ Penzance 1 (Richards) Liskeard Athletic 2 (Smith, Rowe)
⚽️ St Austell P-P Helston Athletic
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