For just under an hour, Chatham kept themselves in this contest at 1-0 down. Given they are paid only their travel expenses, while their opponents are full-time professionals chasing promotion to the Women’s Super League, that was an admirable effort from the lowest-ranked side remaining in the Women’s FA Cup fifth round. They were powerless, though, to stop Birmingham charging into the quarter-finals with a hat-trick from Océane Hurtré.
Anybody hoping to see a rare upset in this competition was left disappointed as the hosts, second in WSL 2, FA Cup winners in 2012 and heavy favourites for this tie, opened the floodgates in the later stages. It was a game they would have had wrapped up before half-time had it not been for an inspired performance from the Chatham goalkeeper, Simone Eligon, who represents Trinidad and Tobago.
She saved superbly from Hurtré and Lee Geum-min in the first half, before Hurtré’s cross-cum-shot opened the scoring. Eligon expertly tipped Veatriki Sarri’s strike on to the bar when the score was 2-0, before the hosts’ superiority became irresistible.
The final score demonstrated the gulf in athleticism and fitness levels in the women’s pyramid and was not far off the standard set by the second-tier leaders Charlton’s 10-0 victory over fourth-tier Swindon in the fourth round. This competition is still waiting for its first shock since the top women’s sides turned professional.
Nonetheless, Chatham will take away £127,000 in prize money for their Cup run, which began in the third qualifying round away at Beaconsfield and they eliminated two higher-league sides, AFC Wimbledon and Exeter, away from home.
This was their fourth away trip of the run and their first appearance in the fifth round. Their travelling supporters appeared to make up most of the crowd, outnumbering and out-singing the hosts. The club felt they could have brought several hundred more than the approximately 200 fans who did travel, if the game had not clashed with a home fixture for the men’s side.
Chatham travelled to the Midlands on Saturday morning and enjoyed lunch together as a squad in Solihull, where their manager, Keith Boanas, showed the team a motivational montage of all 17 of the goals in their five victories to reach this stage.
Boanas, who won the Cup as the manager of Charlton in 2005, is awaiting treatment on a knee injury and hobbled along the touchline before kick-off and then shared a warm embrace with the Birmingham head coach, Amy Merricks, who is from Kent. Merricks began her coaching career at Gillingham, who rebranded as Chatham in 2023, so she has something of a soft spot for the club.
That certainly did not stop her side being ruthless in their pursuit of goals. Hurtré completed a classy treble while Sarri, Lee and Birmingham’s record signing, Wilma Leidhammar, were all on the scoresheet, with the lively substitute Batcheba Louis adding two goals.
The quarter-final draw will be on Monday before the fifth-round tie between London City Lionesses and Tottenham. Before that, there are six ties on Sunday, including a Merseyside derby and a repeat of last season’s final with Chelsea hosting Manchester United.
