Fort Road ready to witness the magic of the FA Cup

It’s no great secret that women’s football is currently thriving in the UK.

The Lionesses European Championship victory over the summer has brought the sport into the mainstream spotlight in a way that’s never been seen before in this country.

The early weeks of the new Women’s Super League season has witnessed increased crowds – over 47,000 attended the North London derby this past weekend – while Sky Sports and the BBC are currently giving far more airtime to women’s football than ever before.

But it’s not just at the highest echelons of the game where women’s football is becoming increasingly popular. At grassroots level the game is enjoying a resurgence, too. From girls’ football to non-league, to development squads, more and more women are playing (and watching) football with each passing week.  

One only needs to look at the FA Cup to see just how much the game has grown in a relatively short period.

When the competition was launched back in 1970, just 71 teams entered the tournament (including some from Scotland and Wales). This season, a whopping 438 teams have been accepted into the competition – an increase of 21 teams from last season.

As I’m sure you’ve already guessed, Newhaven Ladies are one of those 438 teams.

And while the final at Wembley next May remains a distant (and somewhat unrealistic) dream, this isn’t to say that the female Dockers won’t be relishing their chance to write themselves into some FA Cup folklore this weekend. Starting their campaign against a team that has previously won the competition three times. More on that in a bit.

One of the best things about the FA Cup – actually, scrap that, the best thing about the FA Cup – is that it gives all teams, no matter how small, the chance to compete against more illustrious peers. It’s not known as the Magic of the FA Cup for no reason!

In an 11v11 game of football, anything is possible on the day. Giants fear being slayed. The would-be slayers dream of their 90-minutes of fame.

On Sunday afternoon, Newhaven Ladies enter the competition in the Second Qualifying Round (there are three qualifying rounds before you reach the First Round Proper). And the tie they’ve been handed to open their campaign could hardly present a more mouth-watering prospect.

Fulham.

At home!

Okay, okay, so these days Fulham FC Women may not play at the same standard as their male counterparts. But they’re still a big name in the world of women’s football and they’re certainly a team who the Dockers will be looking forward to playing and testing themselves against.

At the turn of this century (albeit in a slightly different guise), Fulham actually became the first ladies’ football team in Europe to turn full-time professional, back when the club was owned by Mohamed Al-Fayed.

They’re also two times winners of the FA Cup (three if you count the days when they were known as Friends of Fulham), having lifted the trophy in 2002 and 2003 (and in 1985 as Friends of Fulham). They’ve also been runners-up three-times as well (twice as Friends of Fulham), most recently in 2001.

While the current Fulham team is a very different animal (the successful team of the early noughties was dissolved in 2006 before a reformed club itself folded in 2010), the newest incarnation is showing signs that they’re a giant which is starting to stir.

Playing in the London and South-East Regional Women’s Premier Division (one league up from the Dockers), Fulham finished third last season, losing just three of their 20 games.

They’ve also made a solid, if not spectacular, start to the new campaign, winning three and losing two of their opening five matches.

Whichever way you look at it, a tough afternoon lays in store for the Dockers.

That said, there’s reasons to be optimistic that maybe, just maybe, this will be Newhaven’s opportunity to cause something of an FA Cup giant-killing.

The Ladies have won both of the two league games they’ve played on the new Fort Road surface this season, scoring eight goals in the process, and having brought in a number of new acquisitions over the summer there are signs that the team is starting to gel after a tricky start.

One thing is for certain, any support you can give them on Sunday afternoon will be greatly appreciated by all the players and managers.

The game kicks off at the slightly later time of 15:00 and costs just £3 to get in. Quite where else you could pay such a paltry amount to watch your local side play a competitive match against a team that has won the FA Cup twice in the last 20 years, I have no idea!

What’s more, the bar will be open, the sun will be shining (at least according to my weather app; don’t blame me if it’s not) and there’ll be some great football on show (this one’s guaranteed 😉).

We hope to see as many of you there as possible. Please help us spread the word by telling anyone else who you think may be interested about the match, too.

It would be great to see Fort Road thriving come Sunday.

Come On You Dockers!