Just 90 minutes stand between Portsmouth and a place in next season’s FA Women’s Super League - and for captain Charley Wilson nothing would mean more.
The 30-year-old striker began her association with the south-coast club at the age of nine and on Sunday she will lead out the newly-crowned FA Women’s Premier League Southern Division champions in a straight shootout with northern counterparts Sheffield for a crack at the big time.
Having only attained promotion to the third tier in 2012 Pompey’s progress has been rapid.
Portsmouth v Sheffield FC
The FA Women's Premier League
Play-Off Final
Sunday 24 May
DCS Stadium, Stratford Town FC
They finished fourth last season, but have blown away all before them this term. Victory against West Ham earlier this month was their sixth in a row and saw Portsmouth crowned champions with a stunning 56 points from 22 games.
But if anyone does not need convincing of how big the next step will be, it’s Wilson.
“I’ve always been a Portsmouth girl at heart, that’s why this Final will mean so much to me,” said Wilson, who had a brief sabbatical from the game after turning 21, before returning to Westleigh Park.
“It’s just amazing to have come so far, so quickly and be in with the chance of going up. It’s a shame we can’t go up automatically because we have done so much to win this League, but we are up for the next challenge.
“It was an amazing feeling to be champions and it took a few days for what we had achieved to register.
“We have more depth in the squad this year. Last year we had a few injuries and found it difficult to replace those that were out, but we’ve got strength in every department now and we have been able to cope with anything.
“I’ve been dreaming of playing in the WSL with Portsmouth and now we have the chance.
Portsmouth do have recent history with opponents Sheffield. The pair came head-to-head in the Premier League Cup semi-final in March, with Sheffield triumphing 2-0 with goals from Jodie Michalska and Emma Johnson.
Wilson admits that day some of Pompey’s younger players were scared of Sheffield, but that will not be the case when they renew battle in Stratford-upon-Avon this weekend.
“We didn’t play well at all, we were a little afraid of them,” Wilson admitted. “They are a strong team, but they can play too.
“We’ve got quite a few youngsters who were afraid the first time, but having played them we now know we are capable of matching them for physicality and that they are beatable.
“It’s everything to the girls to have the chance to play in the WSL. It’s what we have dreamed of.
“Some of our players could have moved on to WSL clubs, but they wanted to fulfil that dream in a Pompey shirt.
“Leeta Rutherford played for Millwall, but she missed Portsmouth so much and came back. It’s feelings like that that make us so determined to get the job done this weekend.”
