Sunday afternoon history saw history made at the Bauvill Stadium as Chatham Town Women booked their place in the last sixteen of the Adobe Women’s FA Cup by crushing York City Ladies in front of more than sixteen hundred jubilant spectators. 

It was an afternoon that few will forget. The Chats normal gate of between 100 and 200 was swelled more than ten times its usual size and they watched on as arguably the home side clearly inspired by the backing produced their best forty-five minutes of this or any season to more than rise to the occasion. 

They were given the perfect start when skipper Ellie Jeffkins settled any early nerves by swinging a corner from the left in the net off the back post after Amy Russ had thumped a shot against the York crossbar.  

The visitors had a chance to test the Chats back line, but Katie Astle’s shot was really well held by Simone Eligon in the home goal Amelia Woodgate then got in behind the visitors back-line but could only shoot into the arms of York keeper Becky Sidwell and in the home side’s next attack, Woodgate bounced a lob of the top of the bar after Lucy Jones’s sensational through ball. 

Woodgate and her twin Madison were a constant threat to the visitors down the right as repeatedly one twin fed the other as the Chats pulled the visitors defence all over the Bauvill pitch.

And with Lottie Sharp and Karesha Iton combining really well at times down the left, the Chats were running York ragged with Ciara Hynes the dominant and calming force pulling all the strings in the middle of the park. 

The lead was then doubled as Woodgate was soon on hand to side foot the home side into a 2-0 lead finishing off a wonderful move.

Sharp was released down the left and her brilliant low ball from the left was expertly swept home from six yards. What proved to be York’s best chance followed. Like the Chats opener, it came straight from a corner, but keeper Eligon did really well to keep out a vicious inswinging ball and deflect it onto a post and the defence cleared the danger. 

But that effort, from the visitors’ first flag kick was to be the closest that they came to scoring all afternoon.  

Woodgate sealed the tie in the first half’s final minute as she raced onto a superb defence splitting pass from Jas Auguste, waltzed round the hopelessly exposed York keeper – Becky Sidwell – and rolled the ball into the empty net to complete what in all sense and purpose was almost the perfect forty-five minutes for the hosts. 

The second half saw the home side more than consolidate their position without adding to the lead. Russ and Woodgate were inches away from another flighted ball from the left, this time from Jones; Woodgate was wide left with a low drive from a Russ pass; substitute Otesha Charles was desperately unlucky to see a shot fizz wide before Sidwell made a sensational save to tip Auguste’s piledriver onto the bar and from Jones’s resulting corner, Ellie Perkins could only head straight at the keeper. 

The noise at the final whistle sounded like the roar of sixteen thousand let alone sixteen hundred, as the Chats eased into the competition’s last sixteen along with the likes of Cup holders Chelsea, WSL leaders Manchester City, European Champions Arsenal, Liverpool, Everton, Spurs and West Ham, and that just highlights the achievements of Keith Boanas and his side…

To be even mentioned in the same breath is incredible for a side that just a handful of years ago remember, until Chats Chairman Kevin Hake intervened, didn’t even have a home… 

CHATHAM TOWN WOMEN – Eligon, Perkins, Jeffkins, Jones, Madison Woodgate (Maslak), Hynes, Auguste, Russ (Wiffen), Iton (O’Shea), Amelia Woodgate, Sharp (Charles).

Subs – Wright, Dunn, Sareen, Baravik.

YORK CITY LADIES – Sidwell, Shaw (Martin), Astle, Bentley, Duce (Watt), Varley, Doody, Waldron (Pegrum), Bell (Ash), Buckle, Trickett (Hayhurst).

Subs – Woollam, Benson, Blundell, Mildenhall.

REFEREE – Ms Van Lier