The FA Nationwide Premier League Cup Final
Charlton Athletic v Arsenal
Brentford FC, Griffin Park
Sunday 6th March 2005, 12.15pm

Arsenal manager Vic Akers and his Charlton Athletic counterpart Keith Boanas are both in confident mood as they look ahead to Sunday’s meeting of their two clubs in The FA Nationwide Women’s Premier League Cup Final.

With a 33-match unbeaten run in domestic League and Cup matches, Akers’ team have every reason for their ebullience heading into a repeat of last season’s FA Cup Final, which they won 3-0 against a self-confessed under-par Charlton side.

But Boanas and his players have no need whatsoever for an inferiority complex. They were the last team to beat Arsenal, knocking them out of the League Cup in December 2003 before going on to beat Fulham in the 2004 Final.

And since losing to the Gunners in the FA Cup Final they have beaten them in the current campaign’s curtain-raiser, The FA Nationwide Community Shield, and then held them to a 2-2 away draw in the Premier League.

“We didn’t do ourselves justice in The FA Cup Final,” admits Boanas, “but we learned lessons from that game and we’ve more than held our own against them this season.

“We are capable of beating them and their unbeaten record isn’t something I even think about – it’s our performances that concern me, and we’ll be going into Sunday’s game as confident as anyone could be about a cup final.

“Over the last two or three seasons, though, all of our matches against Arsenal – last season’s FA Cup Final apart - have been very close and I expect it to be just as tight on Sunday.

“But we’re holders of The Premier League Cup - and we’ve no intention of handing it over to Arsenal!”

Charlton were justifiably proud of winning The Cup last season, their 1-0 Final victory bringing the club their first major trophy.

By contrast, when Arsenal completed the League and Cup double in May, it took their trophy haul to an amazing 19 in 13 seasons.

Akers has been manager throughout that time but refuses to allow himself or his players to become blasé about their continuing success.

“The players are as hungry as they ever were,” insists the Arsenal boss. “If that wasn’t the case with any of them, then they wouldn’t still be in the team.

“So although we’ve won the League Cup seven times already, we’ll be just as up for Sunday’s game as we’ve been for any of the finals we’ve been involved in over the years.

“It’ll be tough, it’ll be tight – Charlton are desperate to beat us and I think they fancy their chances. But we’ll just have to see on the day.

“We’re a bit Jekyll and Hyde at the moment and not always playing to our capabilities. But the bigger the game, the better my players respond – and games don’t come much bigger than cup finals.”
Tickets lines opened on Thursday 20 January 2005

Call the ticket hotline on 0870 900 9229 or log on to www.beestickets.com.

Ticket Prices:
£3 for adults
£1 for Children (U16), OAPs, students and disabled fans (one carer admitted for free).

All tickets are subject to availability and a £1.00 per transaction booking fee. Contact Brentford FC on the numbers above for further details.

Group discount and family bookings forms are available by clicking the links below.