LOFTUS ROAD TO GLORY: Cherries v Pilgrims in FAWNL Cup Final

AFC Bournemouth and Plymouth Argyle go head-to-head in the FAWNL Cup final this weekend, ensuring there is a new name on the trophy this year. Clare McEwen speaks to both teams ahead of the game.

QPR’s ground Loftus Road plays host to the two Southern Premier Division teams as they battle it out for the first Women’s National League silverware of the season. Argyle booked their place in the final by beating Northern Premier Division leaders Burnley, while Bournemouth beat West Brom. 

The teams know each other very well and met in the league only last weekend. The PIlgrims got the better of the Cherries on that occasion, claiming all three points as both teams compete for a play-off place this season. With the Cup and promotion to WSL2 still up for grabs for both teams, it’s all to play for.

Do you lean into the excitement of the final this week or try to make it as normal as possible?

Plymouth Argyle head coach, Marie Hourihan: “We’re playing them in back-to-back games and the lead into last week was quite high pressured – with the league game with a lot of riding on it. I think this week has been more about just trying to embrace the week and enjoy it.

“Leading into the cup final, and I say this a lot to the players, in your careers you don’t get many opportunities to play in finals. So it’s as much to try and enjoy and take in that lead up as well, because once you get into the day of the game, it flies by.

“So I think from our perspective, it’s very much trying to give the players the opportunity to embrace and enjoy the experience leading into the game.”

Argyle keeper Hermione Cull: “Yeah, it’s trying to get the pressure off it. Obviously, we want to win it, but we had a good result on Sunday and we just push through and try and get the same on Saturday.“

AFC Bournemouth head coach, Helen Bleazard: “The girls’ attitudes from Sunday [when they narrowly lost to Argyle] and then coming into this week has been really, really good. We trained yesterday, and we’re training tonight. And yeah, we’re really looking forward to the game. 

“I think the Cup Final is always a slightly different narrative, but in terms of our game plan and what we want to do, it doesn’t change.

“We want to go out and win it. We’ll execute the game plan and hopefully we’ll be winners on the day. “

Bournemouth centre-back, Jess Hennessy: “I think from a player’s perspective, these are the games you want to play in.  And how the game went on Sunday, we want to rectify that and I think, hopefully we can on Saturday.”

What does it mean to play at such a famous ground? Has it sunk in?

Hermione Cull: “I don’t think so.  I think I’m one of those people that until I get to the ground, not much really sits in because I want to be able to have the best run up to it. When I get there, then maybe a little bit of emotions come in. But once I step onto that pitch for the warm-up, just got to relax and take it all in and go bit by bit.” 

Jess Hennessy: “It’s a great stadium to be playing at, we’re so lucky to be able to use those facilities. We’re all really excited and, hopefully, it will be a good crowd and all of our families there. So it’ll be a good atmosphere.

“And that’s what you always dream of as a little girl. It’s nice to have family there to support you as well and they live through our dreams too.” 

Is there a psychological challenge to playing the same opponent in a cup match so soon after the league match?

Marie Hourihan: “We’ve got the experience from earlier on this season, where we played Oxford in a double header in the cup and then into a league game. 

“They’re obviously two different competitions and a final is an opportunity, it’s a one-off that probably the shackles come off a little bit more. We could probably play with a little bit more freedom. So that’s kind of been our approach and that’s a message we’ve delivered to the players. 

“We’ve come through a hard run to get to this final. We’ve beaten some very good teams. So it’s about going into this being comfortable and confident and allowing the person to express themselves in the game. I think when we’re in that state of mind, that’s when we play our best.”

Is there anything different coaching wise you do before a cup game?

Helen Bleazard:  “Not really to be honest with you. We played Plymouth in the league last week so we know them, they know us. We know on another day we could have won on Sunday. I know the team are fully prepared. They’re fully up for the game. 

“If we had won the game on Sunday, they’d have the same attitude and the same mentality going into this week. So from my point of view, it’s great to have a group that have that mentality and nothing changes.

“It’s just how we go and put it right for us, but also make sure we go win that trophy.” 

Nick Frith, Head of Women’s Football Pyramid at The FA, knows the Cup final will showcase the FAWNL, especially as the game will be aired on BBC iPlayer.

A cup final like this — two clubs from outside the professional game playing at Loftus Road — what does it represent in terms of what the FAWNL is trying to do?

Nick Frith: “It’s a showpiece event for the league, it’s a chance for the best of the non-professional game, to compete. Because the cups are across the whole of the National League, all six divisions, then we get the chance to showcase the very best of those, and they get to compete against clubs they don’t play in the league season as well.

“As for the day itself, it’s a real chance to celebrate everything the league has to offer and I guess with everything that’s happening off the pitch in terms of the fan zone, the entertainment, the experience the fans will get, but with that hopefully a great game of football that matches the sort of game they had last weekend where Plymouth got a last minute winner.”

How can a showcase final like this help to grow league visibility?

“In terms of awareness of the league, the fact it’s being streamed on iPlayer and on the BBC Sport website is a great opportunity for fans who might not have come across the league previously to experience it for the first time and get a chance to sample what it has to offer.

“Hopefully that can then lead them to looking in their local area and discovering the beauty of the National League, and the 72 clubs around the country – there’s likely to be one quite nearby.

“So, if this Final helps direct fans into those local clubs and gets people down to experience a match day and boost the attendances for their local clubs as well, then that’s even better.”

Kate Longhurst won the FAWNL trophy with Nottingham Forest last season, bringing her illustrious career to an end. Longhurst’s experience stretches across the pyramid, winning back-to-back WSL titles with Liverpool and finishing as a runner-up in the FA Cup with both Chelsea and West Ham. So what does the cup mean for this part of the pyramid and where women’s football stands right now?

You’ve played in massive games up and down the pyramid, how do players feel about this sort of an occasion?

Kate Longhurst: “I think it’s a really good opportunity. It’s a one-off, isn’t it? You’re either a winner or a loser. It definitely feels better when you’re a winner than being a loser – I’ve been on both sides.

“I think especially for teams like Plymouth and Bournemouth, the FA Cup is not a realistic trophy to win for them. It’s really important to have cups like this because it gives players lower down the pyramid, either at the start of their career or for some of them, this is the biggest opportunity for them in their careers.

“It still means the same because it’s an opportunity to win something with your team that you’ve worked so hard for. 

“So yeah, I think it’s really important for teams to be involved in this and have their moment and have an opportunity of winning something.

“It can be a really good platform for them and especially with the two teams this week – they’re both fighting for promotion as well. So having something in the bank already is certainly a confidence builder. I think it’s really important that we see competitions at this level.”

When you look at the two clubs in the final, what do you see in terms of where women’s football is right now?

“It’s two teams that are ambitious. I think especially with Bournemouth coming up from tier four and already looking to try and get promoted this season. It’s incredibly hard getting back-to-back promotions, not many teams are able to do it because of the gulf in leagues.

“But I think Helen Bleazard has done really well to get them to where they are. For both clubs, I think they are showing ambition. They do want to be teams that are fighting above their stations, in terms of where they’re at, and there is probably still a lot of progress needed, but I think it shows that hopefully the levels are getting better. 

“Of course there’s more foreign players coming into WSL but also the facilities and the access to training, the level of coaching, everything is getting better so that filters down the leagues as well. So now we’re seeing even better players in tier three which is only good for the competition.

“It makes teams a lot stronger and hopefully gives them a little bit more preparation in terms of coming up because they’ll have players that have played in WSL2, who have got that experience.

“I think the way the game is progressing is really good.”

Do you see similarities between what the WSL was when you played in it and this tier three, tier four area now?

“I’d say there’s a huge gulf. Maybe when I’m starting out in the WSL, it was part-time teams and I think, if I’m right, when I went to Liverpool, we were the first team to be full-time.

“And even then if you look back now at what was classed as professional, it has a very different feel and when you look at some of the things that we saw as professional…

“You want as many teams as possible to provide the best platform for players. We want standards to improve all the time. I think with playing full time and training full time, technically you get better, physically you get better. 

“I would still say from my experience of playing in tier three last season, I think there are huge gaps, but that’s kind of where we want to decrease the gaps every season if we can.”

Do you see the gaps decreasing?

“Yeah, I think WSL2 is possibly the strongest it’s ever been this season. Obviously I’m seeing it in more of a coaching capacity but I think some of the players at that level, you know, it makes a really strong competitive league.

“A lot of teams, especially towards mid to top of WSL2, on their day, could probably hold their own against WSL teams. But again, there’s still a gulf but I certainly think it is getting smaller.” 

Part of that gulf, of course, comes down to money. Plymouth’s cup run story of the 50/50 lottery donating £12,500 to the team to help with costs ahead of the final, demonstrates that well. 

But not everything in football is about money. Right now it’s about silverware.

The FAWNL Cup Final takes place at Loftus Road on Saturday 28th March. KO 3.30pm. Tickets are available here: https://www.eticketing.co.uk/qpr/EDP/Event/Index/4085 and the final will be televised on BBC iPlayer.

Photo credits: AFC Bournemouth, Plymouth Argyle & Micah Crook/KontentHaus