Many an FA Cup dream has come true — just ask local hero Roger Osborne — and the Town Women’s team will be looking to rewrite the record books on Sunday when they take on their West Ham counterparts at the quarter-final stage of the Vitality Women’s FA Cup.

A 2,000, sell-out crowd — the biggest-ever at the Goldstar Ground in Felixstowe — will see third tier underdogs Town attempt to overcome their Super League rivals, while the game will also be screened live via the BBC Red Button across the UK and even as far away as the USA and Norway.

The Ipswich Women have never before reached the last eight of the national knockout competition and when manager Joe Sheehan was asked if his side could win the game he responded: “I hope so. I think we said the same thing a couple of years ago when we were up against Manchester City — we’re a team and a club that is determined to win games of football.

“We know how difficult the challenge is, based on the level our opponents are playing at and the experience they possess. It’s a really high standard in the WSL but we have to go into this game trying to win it.

“Can we do it? Well, we have to be organised and we have to be very tactically aware of how complex West Ham can actually be. Under [manager] Olli Harder they’ve developed a really good style of playing that is really difficult for a lot of teams in the top division to try to manage, let alone us.

“We have to be on it from that perspective, we have to meet the physical demands and we have to have a bit of luck. If we can get all three of those things, and with a really supportive crowd behind us, there is no reason why we can’t cause an upset.”

What would it mean to manager Sheehan to see his side advance? “It would be huge for us to get to the semi-finals,” he acknowledged.

“For a team at our level it would be incredible. But I’ve said for a long time now that my vision, what I’ve been hoping for over many years, is not to just grow what we’ve got now, it’s to engage and excite a community, a region, and give more home-grown players an opportunity to filter through our pathway.

“That’s what this club was set up to do, in particular to bring through young players, and Sunday’s squad of 20 will feature 17 who have come through our academy system. There are no numbers like that at any other club across this country in women’s football.

“To get to a semi-final is more for what it does for the town, the community and the region because I’m so keen to ensure that if you’re a nine or ten-year-old girl who is excited about what we’re doing now I want you to have the same opportunity in nine years’ time. That’s what is important for me.”

Town were crushed 10-0 by Manchester City two years ago when a quarter-final place was up for grabs but irrespective of the outcome on Sunday their long-term aim is to climb two levels into the Super League, although Sheehan favours a steady, rather than spectacular, approach.

“That’s the golden egg and it’s where the players and staff want to work,” he continued. “What I’ve been conscious of over many years of seeing the game grow is the significant investment that is required and what the likes of Chelsea and Manchester City are providing is so, so high.

“What’s really important is the stability of it and being able to sustain it, and one thing I’ve always tried to do since I started is to try to be as self-sustainable as possible, which is why our supporters and what we do commercially is really, really important, because I want to make sure that we are able to compete at each level.

“We’re competing in the division we are in and if we get to the Championship it will be about cementing that place, developing the infrastructure again and ensuring we are a team that can compete and do well in the Championship.

“If you try to jump too high too soon, because of the money that’s being spent and the quality there is in the top division, it could really catch you up.

“There’s no real timescale on it. I think first and foremost, if we can get into the Championship, it will be a huge achievement for us. If we can become established at that level over two or three years we’ll see where we are and what we achieve next.”

Sheehan confirmed preparations are going well and added: “When we played Manchester City a couple of years ago it was our first taste of the experience, so this time it feels a bit more normal for us.

“We’ve treated it as a normal week and preparations have been exactly the same. We’re treating it just like any other game really and we’re all feeling good, feeling positive and looking forward to the game.”

Asked how it is possible to treat the biggest occasion in the club’s history as just another game, Sheehan replied: “First and foremost, we know how important our league campaign is for us.

“We have six league games to go and one thing we have been conscious of over the last couple of weeks is being aware of the game against West Ham coming up and the demand that places on us that might be different from our league fixtures because of the level of the opposition, the athleticism and the experience that comes from playing a team like West Ham.

“All we’ve tried to do is bear West Ham in mind and try to raise our own levels. Can we go up another gear or two in training and in games? Can we be a bit more critical and more detailed in what we do? We need to put ourselves in the best position to be able to try to compete and do as well as we can on Sunday.

“Our expectation with our league — and what we are trying to achieve with that — is our focus and I think the cup run we are on has been a bonus. We’ve had a taste of it before and it’s something we enjoy being part of, along with the exposure that comes with it and the experience that the players and staff have to test ourselves against a team in the WSL.”

Photo: Ross Halls

dangerous30 added 21:43 - Mar 18 Good luck ladies
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Fat_Boy_Tim added 23:47 - Mar 18 3 wins for itfc would be amazing this weekend. I'm so looking forward to a future where both teams play each weekend and I can watch them both. It's the future and I love it. COYB
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