Ipswich Town Women face AFC Portchester in the third round of the Adobe Women’s FA Cup at the OnSite Group Stadium this afternoon with manager Joe Sheehan insisting that his team won’t be underestimating the lower league side (KO 1pm).
The Hampshire club are currently fourth in the Southern Region Women's Football League, the fifth tier of women’s football, with the Blues bottom of WSL2 having been promoted to the second level for the first time at the end of last season.
"It’s a competition in which we’ve got a lot of history, a lot of really fond memories, so many different experiences from being the underdog ourselves,” Sheehan told TownTV.
"It’s been a competition we’re really passionate about, it’s something we’ve really enjoyed being part of for so many years now and we’re looking forward to starting our campaign this coming weekend.”
Last season, Town reached the fourth round of the competition before losing 3-0 at Manchester City, the second time the teams had met in four years, the Blues having lost 10-0 back in 2020 when a fourth-tier side.
"We’ve had some great runs, to go away again to Man City last year was another good experience for us and one we’ve been fortunate enough to experience a couple of times,” Sheehan recalled.
"We’ve played WSL opposition in West Ham as well previously [losing 1-0 in the quarter-finals at Felixstowe in 2022] and had some really tough tests both home and away.
"We had a really difficult game getting through on penalties last year [at Hashtag United, 4-2 in the shootout after a 2-2 draw], we played a Bournemouth team that were flying high last year as well [and won 1-0 at home], and had some really good experiences.
"Teams in the top tier, teams below and games where we’ve been underdog and been the team that are expected to win. Loads of really good experiences and ones we’ve enjoyed being part of.”
Regarding Portchester, who defeated Worthing 4-1 in round two having beaten Gloucester City 6-2 at the previous stage, both at home, Sheehan said: "It’s a game that we’ll treat exactly the same. We tried to do as much preparations as possible and we respect all the opposition we play, regardless of division and we’re trying to prepare as best we can for the game with the same flow throughout our week.
"We’re working really hard because we’ve set some good standards from last weekend [when Town drew 1-1 at Durham] and we want to carry them through.
"This weekend will be a different type of test for us, we’re going to be away from home, a team we haven't faced before, but we know if you don’t treat these games properly, you can come unstuck.
"We’ve been the underdog, we’ve been in their shoes before and we’ve caused upsets before, so we know it’s possible.
"We know we’ve got restrict them to as little as possible and make sure that we try and take as much control of the game as possible and play to our strengths.
"And if we can do that, we’ll give ourselves a really good chance of progressing in the competition.”
He says the players have been showing the right approach in training this week: "So far, so good, I think, We’re not sensing that they’re slacking or they’re treating this week any different. The attitude and appetite has been spot on.
"Still got a little bit more work to do before we set off for the game, but so far, so good, it’s been a really good week for us and we’re looking forward to getting down there and playing the game.”
The draw for the fourth round takes place live on the official Adobe Women’s FA Cup YouTube channel, along with Channel 4 and TNT’s YouTube channels, on Monday evening from 7pm with the Blues and AFC Portchester ball number 28.