AFC Bournemouth are hoping the magic of the Adobe Women’s FA Cup can carry them through the fourth round proper, with the club reaching this stage of the competition for the first time in their history.
The Cherries are enjoying an incredible run, undefeated in all competitions across the league and cups, sitting pretty at the top of the FA Women’s National League Southern Premier Division heading into this weekend’s tie.
And the club are managed by an FA Cup finalist, no less. First team head coach Helen Bleazard lined up for Bristol City – then Bristol Academy – in the 2011 showpiece against Arsenal, which they eventually lost before making it to the final again the following year with Chelsea, beaten on penalties by Birmingham City.
This season, her Bournemouth side have beaten Millbrook, Leyton Orient and Fulham to set up a fourth round tie with WSL leaders Manchester City.
“We’ve done our homework and had our first meeting as a full squad on our plans to go into this weekend and we’ll do everything we can to get them in a position to be as aggressive and ready to try and win the game on Sunday,” said Helen, who played for Bournemouth between 2022 and 2025 before transitioning to a coach.
“We know how good their squad is, but we also know how good our squad is and it’s the magic of the FA Cup and if we execute our game plan, there’s no reason why we can’t be successful on Sunday.
“We’re trying to keep it business as usual and obviously the occasion is going to speak for itself with the hype that it’s going to bring, but the more that we can keep it to a normal week then the best prepared the team is going to be.
“We talk about the quality that they’re going to bring, but we focus on us. We respect our opposition whoever it is and we do our analysis and our prep, but we focus on the girls and we’ll make sure we’ll full of confidence going into the week for the girls to execute our game plan.”
Striker Jenna Markham could be the key to unlocking the City defence. Having began her career out in Canada, she returned to the UK and tried out for Yeovil Town’s academy, joining their under-14s side.
And it was at Yeovil that Jenna – who scored 24 goals in 26 games last season for the Cherries to scoop the golden boot – played alongside Bournemouth boss Helen.
“There’s definitely going to be some nerves playing against people that you watch play on TV week in and week out and a lot of role models for us all, but I think the main feeling, especially for me is excitement,” said Jenna, who joined Bournemouth from Exeter City.
“It will be a privilege to share a pitch with some of the best players in the country, so I’m really excited and looking forward to it.
“As a striker, [Vivianne] Miedema and Bunny Shaw are probably my two favourites that I’m excited to play against, they’re two of the best in the world at the moment so it’ll be really exciting to play against them.”
