Oxford United Women face Bridgwater United Women in the FAWNL Cup this Sunday.
The U’s have already faced Bridgwater United this season, as they welcomed the Somerset side to Court Place Farm in the first game of the campaign.
Oxford came out victorious, winning 2-0 courtesy of goals from Naomi Cole and Riva Casley. Since then, Bridgwater have won two, drawn two, and lost three, putting them in 9th place in the Southern Premier Division.
It may feel like de-ja-vu for some as this is the third year in a row that the two teams have played each other at this stage of the competition.
Last time out in the FAWNL Cup, Oxford faced a tough test in the form of an AFC Bournemouth side that sat top of their league and pushed the U’s all the way to penalties. Rose Kite was the hero of the day, saving a crucial penalty in the shootout to send the U’s through.
Bridgwater progressed to this round by beating fellow Southern Premier side Billericay Town 1-0 in the opening tie.
Manager Liam Gilbert will return in charge of the squad after missing last weekend’s game due to work reasons, and is thrown straight back into the mix.
“As I said before I left I have so much faith in the staff and the players. They’re superb and they’re so good at their jobs. Off the pitch we have such a good technical and tactical coaching unit and it translates on the pitch” said Gilbert.
“The main thing for us is looking at what we are doing. They’ve recruited fairly well, and we beat them here in the same round last year so they may want to get one back on us. We need to make sure we are ready as we know where there strengths are, and we know areas where we can hurt them so we need to make sure we put that in to practice” added the gaffer.
The game is at Court Place Farm with a 2pm kick off. Normal league prices apply