The Cherries take on Chesham United in what will be their final home game of the 2021/22 campaign.
AFC Bournemouth Women are about to make history in the famous red and black stripes by playing their first competitive game at the Vitality Stadium. The Cherries take on Chesham United in what will be their final home game of the 2021/22 campaign.
The last time these two teams faced off was in January where goals from Lucy Cooper and Katie James ensured the victory for Bournemouth. It was also an impressive defensive display as the division’s top scorer, Gemma Fraser, was unable to find the back of the net.
Steve Cuss, who has worked for the club since 2002 but started managing the women’s team ahead of the 2019/20 season, was gleaming with pride as he spoke about the progression his side has made.
“We’ve gone from council pitches in the early days when we were playing in the county leagues with multiple pitches and multiple games going on to actually playing at the Vitality Stadium on Sunday.
“I’ll probably take a little minute just to reflect on that at some point in the afternoon but, as I’ve said to the players, it’s about being focused because we have got to try and showcase ourselves and showcase the team and show everybody how far the women’s game has come and how far AFC Bournemouth has come.”
Someone else who has played a key role in the development of the women’s team is club captain, Maisy Smith.
She joined Bournemouth in 2018, having previously played for Poole Town in the National League. The defender has led by example this season, keeping 14 clean sheets and only conceding eight goals.
The Vitality Stadium is known for its beautiful playing surface and Smith, who is enjoying her first season as Cherries captain, was confident that this could work to their advantage in this must-win game.
“It’s a very big pitch, so I think we’re going to want to keep the ball a lot because you won’t want to be chasing the ball on this pitch. It’s very nice, the pitch is lovely to play on; it suits our style of football.”
Someone who perfectly represents the progression of this Bournemouth team is 16-year-old, Lucy Cooper. The striker joined the Boscombe side in 2016 where she joined the u12s.
Her first-team debut came in the first round of the Women’s FA Cup in November where she scored an injury time winner to make it 2-1 over Bournemouth Sports.
Her league debut came against Southampton Women in December, and she went on to score her first goal in the National League a game later in a 3-1 win over Swindon Town.
So far, the 16-year-old has scored 11 times in 13 games, including braces against Portishead and Maidenhead Town.
With around 1,900 tickets to this weekend’s game already sold, Cooper was excited at the prospect of playing in front of a large crowd.
“We’re getting closer and closer now to the bigger leagues where more people come to watch and we’re trying to replicate those situations.
“There will be nerves; I know for myself I get extremely nervous before games. It’s a big crowd so there’ll be nerves, but those nerves will drive us on”.
With maximum points needed from their remaining games to have a chance of winning the league, Cooper revealed she was feeling optimistic about her side’s chances.
“We’re confident. From the beginning of the season, we’ve gone into the game with the same mentality. It’s different, there’s a big crowd with a big pitch but nothing changes; we have the same mentality.” She jokingly continued: “We’re going to go out there, we’re going to work hard, and hopefully smash them.”
With just two games in the season to go, Bournemouth find themselves as the underdogs in the race for promotion. A win on Sunday would see the club go two points behind league leaders Cheltenham, with only the last game of the season to play.
As they say in football, anything can happen.