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| One of the stands |
The ground is the home ground of both Cheltenham Saracens FC and Cheltenham Town Ladies. It is situated approximately 30 minutes walk from the town centre. As I was pushed for time both there and back because of trains, I didn't take any photographs of the town, which I usually like to do when I visit a place. If my original train wasn't cancelled I would have got in around 11:15 which would have allowed me to look around Cheltenham first. Of course this wasn't the case, so I went straight from the station to ground which wasn't an especially scenic route, unless you like looking at massive Tesco supermarkets or reasonably average A roads. I can't say I do...
The ground has two small seated stands and one covered standing section on one of the long sides. It has a compact clubhouse, which was filled with all the usual memorabilia and trophies, along with a snack bar and hot drink facilities. Coffee cost £1. The changing rooms were positioned just outside the ground near one corner in a separate building. The entry was £2, which included a programme. I was pleased about this, not because I'm an avid programme collector (I often don't bother with the things), but women's games especially lower down the leagues don't often issue a team sheet, let alone a programme so I must admit it was nice to receive one. The majority of the 80 spectators were already there when I arrived and the club had a friendly feel about it.
Despite picking this fixture over it's sheer convenience due to me being in the Bristol area at the weekend for the Western Hop the ground was a pleasant surprise. It was conveniently situated, just off the train route on the way back to Preston and for a ground I can't say has been on my radar or 'hit list', it by no means was a wasted or disappointing journey. There were more stands than I was expecting and the ground had a fair amount of character than the satellite version of Google Maps suggested. For bonus points, you can even see the Cotswolds if you are looking towards one of the goals, plus a train line running alongside the ground: a clear 'must visit' for all those who enjoy both trains and football! Unfortunately I didn't manage to get a photo with a train running past as they were few and far between.
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| Scenic |
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| Character |
With Cheltenham in third place of the FA Women's National League Division 1 South West and Brislington at the bottom of the table having lost all their matches so far, this tie was almost destined to go the host's way. Despite a few early chances holding Cheltenham in good stead for game, the visitors didn't make it easy and they too had their fair share of chances with a few shots going above the bar. Good defending too meant Cheltenham scored their first goal towards the end of the half at 39 minutes, with a brilliant free kick from Charlottle Criddle.
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| All change! |
Brislington had the first real chance of the second half, which kicked off at ten past three. After a slow start, Cheltenham soon picked up the pace and kept the majority of possession. This half definitely showed the split between the two sides with Cheltenham looking extremely confident, bagging them their first goal of the half just 12 minutes in from a fierce strike by Georgia Brown. They scored again just two minutes after and then notched up a further two later in the half, resulting in a 5-0 victory at the whistle.
The win has Cheltenham going into the Third Round Qualifying, where they will take on Exeter in three weeks time on Sunday 27th October. This won't be the last time these two sides meet throughout the season, as they meet again in February next year.
The draw has been made and I'm already looking into a couple of options. Fingers crossed the travel will be easier..!
You can view the full photo set here.
You can follow Cheltenham Town Ladies on Twitter here and Brislington LFC here.
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