Brentford in the Bliss of an FA Cup Dream
Brentford Women have made history. Their second-round game against London Seaward on Sunday afternoon will be the furthest they’ve reached in the Women’s FA Cup.
After last season’s cup double win, Manager Karleigh Osborne spoke about creating a story at the club.
When asked about how extending the run in the FA Women’s Cup builds upon that incredible story, Osborne said: “I think it shows what we’re trying to do here as a club. We’re on a bit of a journey in terms of promotions and needing to go up the leagues, but that’s part of the story. These girls are creating history week in week out, year on year. I think that’s something to be extremely proud of.”
He added: “When we look back at this in 5-10 years, they can say that I was part of the journey that took this club to the very top level. I think that’s an amazing thing to be part of, for myself as a manager and for these players.”
LONDON, ENGLAND – MAY 02: Karleigh Osborne of Brentford celebrates with the League Two Trophy during the Coca-Cola League Two match between Brentford and Luton Town at Griffin Park on May 2, 2009 in London, England. (Photo by Christopher Lee/Getty Images)
Brentford Can Dream
Osborne spoke about the importance of this run, saying: “For me the dream is firmly alive. There’s a lot of work that we’ve got to do and it starts this weekend which is where all our focus is. At the moment we’re writing history, and we want to continue to do that.”
Brentford have won all nine games in the league this season. They have displayed some stunning football and dominant performances along the way. The FA Cup has offered them tougher matchups.
They saw out a 4-2 win against Ascot United in the last round. A game that became a battle in the second half as Ascot fought back to make it 3-2 before Chloe Logie grabbed the clinching goal.
When asked if the FA Cup has been the real test of the level of his team, Osborne said: “Yeah I would say so because you don’t know what you’re going to face. It’s a really big test for where we are as a group and as a team. We’re showing that we can compete. Ascot was a really good game because we got ourselves ahead, but then we let them back into the game.”
I think 18 months ago that would have been a game where we might not have seen it through. This year we made sure we did and that shows we’re moving in the right direction. We’ve now got another opportunity against another good team who is a few leagues higher than us. We need to go and prove again that we’re a group who is ready to compete at that level.”
The Opposition
On the challenges London Seaward pose for his team, Osborne said: “They will have good physical ability and technically they’ll be of a decent standard. They’re not going through a good time at the moment in terms of their results but sometimes the saying goes ‘a wounded animal is the most dangerous’.
We need to be prepared. We need to make sure we match them and better them in every area. We need to make sure we finish, play well and defend well to give ourselves the best chance of winning because it’s not going to be an easy game.”
Player’s Preview
Chloe Logie has been a star for Brentford this season. The 19-year-old striker sensationally scored 5 goals in the Capital Cup against Actonians Reserves last Sunday.
On what inspiration and lessons she took from the cup double win last season, Logie said: “We won two cups last season so that’s put a lot of confidence into us. We know that we can push through.
It’s really physical for us to have the cup games and the league games. It can be physically tyring, but I think that’s only helped us be able to play these 90 minutes and then longer.
The Southampton game last year took us to the last minute. This season we are so much stronger.”
Brentford V London Seaward kicks off on Sunday 24th November at 3 o’clock at Bedfont Sports Club.
