Cambridge United through to Women’s FA Cup first round after victory against Real Bedford
Darren Marjoram was pleased with the response that his Cambridge United players produced during Sunday’s 3-1 win over Real Bedford in the Adobe Women’s FA Cup.
The third round qualifying tie was United’s first outing since they suffered a 4-0 league defeat at the hands of London Bees seven days earlier.
But they showed no signs of any hangover as goals from Sarah Wiltshire, Abbie Jackson and Rosy Woodhams secured Cambridge’s spot in the second round of the competition at the expense of a side that had lost none of their eight games going into the encounter.
“During the warm-up I thought we looked very sharp – very different to last week,” said Marjoram. “We knew we didn’t perform to our level last week and we all openly admitted that.
“We all reflected quite well during the week and looked at the things that we needed to do differently.
“We had that thought of ‘we didn’t perform well last week but we’re not going to have two in a row’.
“It shows resilience and we went out there and put things right – that had a huge impact on our game.
“And it’s the FA Cup – if you don’t win your journey is over and we really desperately wanted to continue.
“It was a tough first round draw to have Real Bedford who are an outstanding side, so we knew we had to be at our best.
“When we’re playing sides at that level we show what we’re capable of and what we can do.
“There are a few things that gave us that level today, but I certainly think looking back to last week people wanted to be resilient and were determined to put in a good performance.”
Monday’s first round draw handed United a home tie against fellow FA Women's National League Division One South East side Norwich City.
The Canaries, who top the division, will visit St Neots’ Premier Plus Stadium on 3 November.
Before that clash Marjoram’s side will be in FA Women's National League Plate action on Sunday (20 October) when they play host to Charlton Athletic Academy.
United are looking to go one better in this year’s competition after being defeated in the final last season.
