Chatham Town Women are preparing for their biggest game of the season next weekend with a trip to play Exeter City in the Second Round of the Adobe Women’s FA Cup.

After already getting past National League South AFC Wimbledon in the last round on penalties after a titanic 3-3 draw at the Cherry Red side, Keith Boanas’s side will head West at the weekend looking for another giant killing as the Grecian Women play in the same league as the Dons, and incidentally faced each other this weekend with Exeter winning 2-0.

The Chats will travel in reasonably good spirits after being involved in another thriller that they this time just failed to get over the line against Norwich City Women on Sunday afternoon at the Bauvill. 

The Canaries arrived from Norfolk second in the League tucked in behind pace setters and unbeaten Fulham and the Chats (who started the day fifth) knew they were in for a real test, and after four minutes when the visitors scored that test became a mountain!

But under Boanas, this side has developed a remarkable togetherness and a steel that wasn’t there eighteen months ago and after surviving an early onslaught, the home side recover magnificently and skipper Ellie Jeffkins levelled the scores with a thunderous free-kick that is becoming the midfielder’s trade mark after netting two of the three in the last round of the Cup. 

Jeffkins was desperately unlucky not to put her side in front as either side of the break she crashed a shot against the bar and curled a free-kick onto a post with the Norwich keeper merely a spectator on both occasions.

The Chats finally got their noses in front, when Lucy Jones capped a personal tremendous game by drilling a penalty home after the impressive Lottie Sharp was hauled down.

The Chats went in search of a third to seal the win and were left scratching their heads how they didn’t score before the visitors scored twice in the final stages to snatch a win that they barely deserved leaving the Chats crestfallen despite one of their best Women’s National League performances of the season which earned the home side a standing ovation for the faithful fans who braved dropping Medway temperatures.

Now all things for the Chats point West to the headquarters of the Devon FA in Newton Abbott which is home ground to the Exeter City Women’s team and whilst the manager will have been desperately disappointed to have been beaten this weekend, the man who knows all about winning the Women’s FA Cup – Boanas was Charlton coach when they won the trophy in 2005 – was the first to admit after the game that his side didn’t deserve to lose the game and if they can produce another performance like that next Sunday, Chatham Town Women could well be adding another entry to the list of FA Cup giant killing.

KSN will be previewing the game with Boanas later in the week and will be travelling with the Chats Women as their “Road to Wembley” takes a detour to South Devon on Sunday.

Picture supplied by Nath Munday.