Enfield Town v Gillingham Ladies
The FA Women's Cup sponsored by E.ON
Second Round Proper
1pm, Sunday 29 November 2009
Winning clubs will receive £350 from The FA prize fund
Click here for a full list of Second Round Proper ties
Click here for the full list of First Round results
Gillingham Ladies kicked off their FA Women’s Cup campaign with a resounding 6-0 win against South West Combination side Oxford City at Martin Grove and stated their intentions to take on the best.
With no financial backing from their parent club, Gillingham Ladies rely on goodwill donations and sponsorship to keep the club afloat and The FA Women’s Cup gives them a valuable opportunity to boost their coffers as the season progresses.
Their First Round win earned them £250 and a win in the Second Round, against Enfield Town, will see the club bank a further £350. A Third Round win would add another £500 to the club’s account, send the Gills into the last 16 and put them in the hat alongside the biggest clubs in English women’s football.
And that is the aim for Gillingham, who made a solid start to their Cup campaign at the weekend, with goals from strikers Ashlee Hincks and Natalie Crinean - who both bagged a brace - plus midfielders Danni Farmer and Vicky Ashton-Jones giving the Gills a comfortable win.
Speaking after the match, manager Ian Varley, an FA Skills Coach, said he was confident that his side had the quality to make significant progress in the competition.
"We just want to go as far as we can,” Varley said.
“If I'm honest I'm a little bit disappointed with the draw because The FA Cup usually gives you chance to play someone different. Having said that it gives us a great opportunity to make the Third Round and I'm very confident that we will do that.
"The bigger teams come into the competition in rounds three and four, and we'd love to progress that far and test ourselves against one of the big sides.
“Realistically we won't win the whole competition, but if we get the right draws, especially at home, we can give anyone a game."
Gillingham captain, central defender Becky Lyon, explained that despite playing in the third tier of women’s football, the team are looking to prove themselves against the best sides in England.
"Winning 6-0 shows teams that we're not a joke. We may be in a lower division but we're there to be taken seriously.
"We're just aiming to go as far as we can in the competition. Money's a big factor for clubs our size and the further we go, the more money we can get to help pay the bills."
As well as earning some much-needed prize money, progression through the competition may bring the opportunity for Gillingham's players to test themselves against some of the best players in the country. The prospect of a potential clash with a club like Arsenal is something that Lyon and her team-mates would relish.
"We'd be nervous, but really excited," she explained.
"All the girls really deserve the coverage and a game against one of the big clubs would certainly give us that."
The Gills currently play their football in the third tier English women’s football, in the South East Combination League, but their performances have drawn the attention of the local and national media. The ITV Meridian cameras were present for their recent league victory over Northampton Town in October and a photographer from women’s football magazine, Fair Game, was in attendance on Sunday to watch the Gills win over Oxford.
The club has been transformed under the stewardship of Director of Football, Martin Andrews, and Varley and the pair have assembled a side capable of achieving promotion to the second tier of women’s football. They currently sit at the top of the South East Combination League with two games in hand over their nearest rivals.
A run in The FA Women’s Cup, and the opportunity to test themselves against the best sides in the country, would be a welcome bonus.
