Posh Women set for Semi-Finals of Northants County Cup against the U23s.
Peterborough United Women face Posh Women U23s at Abbey Lawn on Sunday (2pm) in the semi-finals of the Northamptonshire FA Women’s County Cup as both teams look to continue their winning streaks. Despite the U23s drawing the fixture at home, the County Cup tie has been relocated to Abbey Lawn due to crowd safety and hospitality.
Dan Lawlor’s side returned to winning ways in their last league fixture after a 5-1 victory over Leafield Athletic Ladies thanks to a brace from Tara Kirk and goals from Evie Driscoll-King, U23 player Rebecca Mears and Renai Bennett at Castle Vale Stadium. They progressed into the semi-finals after an emphatic 15-0 win over Bugbrooke St Michael’s at Birds Close.
Michael Allsebrook’s side are now four games unbeaten in all competitions as they came from behind to beat Sutton Coldfield Town Women Development 3-1 on Sunday afternoon at the Trade Tyre Community Stadium in the FA Women’s National League Reserves Midlands Division. The U23s advanced to the semi-finals of the Northants County Cup after they secured a 2-1 win over Thrapston Town Ladies at the idverde Training Ground.
Team News
Speaking to Posh+ ahead of the game, First Team Coach Adam Timson confirmed that he has a full squad despite new signing Ella Hilliard, who will not be involved in Sunday’s fixture due to cup regulations. Frankie Pim will be in contention to play for the first team squad and Rebecca Mears will play for the U23s due to them both being cup tied.
U23s Manager Michael Allsebrook confirmed during the lead-up to the game that he has a fully fit squad at his disposal. Bronte Cooper (injured) and Lauren King (unavailable) are the only absentees for the semi-final.
From The Coach
“It’s a good occasion for the club to get this far in the competition with both teams and that means that one us will definitely be in the final which is great for everyone. It will be a good celebration really, I’m hoping we’ll get a good amount of people to come down to watch and support both teams. A lot of the young girls from the academy will be there and they will get to see the pathway and how it leads to good things.”
Watch First Team Coach Adam Timson full interview on Posh+.
From The Gaffer
Allsebrook said: “If you told us in the summer we would be high up in the table and have two semi-finals to look forward to, we’d have snapped your fingers off. It’s a chance to show how far the squad has come since the summer and a chance to test ourselves against a really good Tier 4 side.”
“We go there on Sunday with a game plan but we know we have to play to our absolute best to have a chance of winning. We’ve shown a lot of resilience to win games in recent weeks, so we bring a lot of confidence into Sunday’s game from that.”
Ones To Watch
Forward Tara Kirk is currently Posh’s top league goal scorer so far this season after netting nine goals in 17 appearances. Ella-Mai Bale returned for the U23s from a spell out with injury earlier this month. She has 12 goals in 13 appearances this season.
Last Time In The Cup
Last season, the Posh Women secured their place in the finals of the Northants FA County Cup for a third consecutive season after a dominant 3-0 victory over Northampton Town Women at the Harpole Playing Fields thanks to goals from Jess Evans, Keir Perkins and Jess Driscoll.
Ticket News
Tickets are priced at £3 for adults, £2 for seniors and for under 18s and free for under 12s. Supporters can pay by cash or card on the game.
Live Updates
Updates of the game will be available on The Posh Women’s X account (@theposhwomen), with post-match reaction also on the website.
Photo credit: Darren Wiles