1 day Ago By [email protected] (Luke Cawdell)
Chatham Town Women aim to put their name on a cup tonight in what could be the first of three finals they play this season. Keith Boanas’ side are out of league title contention but could still finish the season with some silverware. First up is the Isthmian League Cup final against holders and hosts Billericay Town.
Chats are also in the semi-finals of the Combined Counties Cup and will play Dartford in the Kent Women’s Cup final on May 1. Isthmian Cup opponents Billericay are fighting off the threat of relegation in the league above Chatham and looking ahead to the challenge at New Lodge, manager Boanas said: “They will probably just about avoid relegation, in my opinion, but they are the holders in this cup and it’s at their ground and that probably makes them slight favourites on paper. “They have a couple of our ex-players and signed a lot of young players who have been released from the Championship clubs, dual signings.
“They have Taylor Bell who was with us last year and have just signed Esme Johnson from London City. who I know very well. It will be a tough game and a very interesting one.
” Neither team had a game on Sunday. Billericay’s last outing the week before saw them beaten 3-0 by Lewes and they sit just a point above the drop zone in the Southern Premier Division. Chatham are too far adrift of Division 1 South East leaders Real Bedford to challenge for the title but Boanas is still targeting a positive finish to the campaign.
They won their last league game 6-0 away at Ashford Town (Middlesex) - a result which ended a run of four games without a win in the league, form which had seen their title hopes disappear. Boanas said: “In that game we worked hard in training on what we wanted to do and everything worked on the day, whereas in the previous games our opponents hadn’t done quite what we expected them to do. “It was nice to get some goals and some confidence back into the players, even though we’d had the cup game before (beating Margate 14-0), which was another big win, but that wasn’t a game we could take a lot from in the Combined Counties Cup.
“To get six against Ashford, which I think relegated them, was pleasing and we could have scored another four! “Ironically, our two top scorers didn’t get on the scoresheet in that game - I’m not sure if that’s a good thing or a bad one, hopefully they’re saving it for the cup final.” Chatham are away to AFC Sudbury this Sunday when they return to league action. Boanas said: “We want to finish as strong as we can and I want to finish top three.
If we win the remaining games we do that. “There are little rivalries in there like finishing above London Bees, who knocked us out of the FA Cup. “Finishing as high as you can then sets the standard and momentum for next season.
“The last game is likely to be the Kent Cup and players are playing for places. We will go as strong as we can in every game we have left aside from maybe that Combined Counties Cup game but I will make that decision when I know more about what is happening.” Chats will play either Portsmouth or Ashford Town in the semi-final of the Combined Counties Cup.
Their weekend opponents in the league have improved of late and Boanas is expecting a tougher challenge than the one they faced at the start of the season when they beat Sudbury 5-1 at home. Boanas said: “They drew on Sunday with Real Bedford, who on paper have probably won the league, so they have obviously improved and the results are showing it. “Some teams improve at the end of the season, some teams die.
We improved last year. “As much as we didn’t nick wins we had close games against top of the table sides because we managed to get our act together and were playing without pressure. They seem to be one of those sides.
“They are playing without pressure and I know their management team, I think they have under achieved and they will be looking for a strong finish to prove a point. “We certainly can’t afford to take it lightly and we won’t. We want to finish the season positively.
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