PHOTO: SHOTSBYMAISY (MAISY GREEN)
Altrincham Football Club Women are a team who weren’t familiar to fans of the Adobe Women’s FA Cup at the start of the competition, but they certainly are now; having never been past the second round qualifying, they have now reached the third round proper with a place in the fourth round at stake. With this fantastic achievement, they become the lowest ranked side still in the competition, and take on National League side York City Ladies at Moss Lane this weekend on the 14th of December.
The Robins FA Cup journey began on September 7th in the first qualifying round with a Cheshire Derby down at the J. Davidson Stadium. The fixture between the two clubs was a rematch of the 24/25 season, as the local bragging rights for Cheshire were on offer as well as a place in the FA Cup second qualifying round. In the last FA Cup fixture between the two, Macclesfield were the dominant side, cruising into the next round 3-1.
However, it was Altrincham who got their revenge this time, as within the first thirty minutes the Robins were already 3-0 up with goals from Georgia McKnight, Kira Saycell and Milla Jacobson before the Silks pulled one back just before half time giving a taster of what was to come in the second half. Just minutes after the restart, Saycell got her second of the game before Macclesfield got a second. In that game they were thrown a lifeline of a penalty which they dispatched, making the game 4-3.
McKnight was quick to score Altrincham’s 5th before the Silk were given another penalty to try and salvage something from the game but Robins keeper Kaleta dived swiftly to her right saving the penalty before Phoebe Gibson capitalised on defensive error and was able to chip the goalkeeper from a significant distance, securing the Robins place in the Adobe Women’s FA Cup second qualifying round.
In the Second Round qualifying, Altrincham took on Atherton Laburnum Rovers at the changed venue of the ever-popular Leigh Sports Village complex. In similar fashion to the first game, they raced into a 3-0 lead within the first half an hour, this time with goals from Kira Saycell, who volleyed a ball home into the top right after a fantastic corner ball in.
Georgia McKnight secured the second following a quick counter attack, and Kira Saycell got the third by nipping in front of a back pass from Atherton and dribbled round the keeper to tuck home her second of the afternoon. Rovers pulled one back before half time, before then slotting home in injury time to mount a comeback but resolute Altrincham defending sent them to the next round where they would face Stockton Town.
The third round qualifying was a tense set of affairs; the Robins started well but couldn’t convert early chances, and playing into the biting wind certainly wasn’t helping. Stockton really dug their heels in, though; by creating an early chance from a through ball to their attacker, Olivia Kaleta raced out and saved the one-on-one in spectacular fashion. If it wasn’t for the quick reactions of Kaleta again before half time to dive onto the ball following a goalmouth scramble the score was 0-0 going into the half time .
After the break, a relentless piece of defending from Katie Locke had Altrincham winning the ball back close to the halfway line, starting the counterattack. Locke continued her driving run before whipping in an inch-perfect cross that was flicked on by Kira Saycell through to Georgia McKnight, who slammed the ball into the roof of the net on the 47-minute mark, and with more resolute defending, the Robins made even more history, making it to the first round proper of the competition.
Georgia McKnight sprinted after a long ball; after the referee played advantage following an earlier foul, she beat the offside trap, and just 80 seconds in, Altrincham were ahead. Then, Milla Jacobson capitalised on a miskicked clearance from the opposition goalkeeper; executing some nifty footwork around her defender, she slotted it home into the bottom right-hand corner, extending Altrincham’s lead.
Ten minutes before half time, Kira Saycell latched onto a wonderful ball into her and turned into the box; a clumsy tackle from a Penrith defender was punished by giving Altrincham a chance from the penalty spot to extend their lead to three. Saycell took the chance, rolling the ball home into the bottom corner, giving the goalkeeper no chance of saving, and the Robins went into the break 3-0 up. Following a second half comeback from Penrith, they were again on their way to the second round following a 3-2 win.
In their latest fixture, they took on North-East side Ponteland United, who themselves had made history by reaching the second round of the competition, having beaten Bolton Wanderers. In what was a very exciting and anticipated tie between the two teams, it was 0-0 at half time.
However, it was Robins skipper Natalie Lowe who popped up at the right place at the right time, she hit a strike perfectly from outside the eighteen-yard box which hit the top left corner of the goal at eighty-five minutes sparking wild scenes from Altrincham players and fans alike.
These celebrations continued following the final whistle, as the history for Altrincham was continuing to be written they now have a massive home tie to look forward to taking on York City for a place in the prestigious Fourth Round….