Marine Academy Plymouth Ladies FC v Bridgwater United Women FC
📅 Sunday 27 September
⏰ 2:00pm
📍 Erme Valley
🏆 FA WNL Cup – Group A
Bridgwater United Women FC travel to Devon this afternoon knowing that everything is still to play for in Group A of the FA Women’s National League Cup.
After two matches, Bridgwater sit second in the group with three points, behind Torquay United on four points and level with Plymouth Argyle on three. Marine Academy Plymouth sit fourth with one point.
Today’s fixture is therefore a crucial one as the group reaches its conclusion.
𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗱𝗼 𝗕𝗿𝗶𝗱𝗴𝘄𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗻𝗲𝗲𝗱?
The simplest scenario is clear:
🟢 𝗪𝗜𝗡
A victory would take Bridgwater to six points and put the team in a very strong position to progress from Group A.
With the group winner progressing automatically to the Cup knockout stage, a win would also leave Bridgwater waiting on the result of the final group fixture between Plymouth Argyle and Torquay United to determine the final group positions.
🟡 𝗗𝗥𝗔𝗪
A draw would take Bridgwater to four points.
That would leave the door open to qualification, but the final Plymouth Argyle v Torquay United result would become particularly important.
If Torquay win, Bridgwater would finish second. If Plymouth win, they would move onto six points and overtake Bridgwater.
A draw between Plymouth and Torquay would leave Bridgwater and Torquay level on four points, with the final group placings determined by the competition’s applicable tiebreakers.
🔴 𝗗𝗘𝗙𝗘𝗔𝗧
A defeat would leave Bridgwater on three points and dependent on the result of Plymouth v Torquay, as well as the final group standings and tiebreakers.
The top two positions are therefore still very much up for grabs.
𝗜𝘁’𝘀 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗷𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗶𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗼𝗽
There is another route into the next stage.
The FA WNL Cup group stage consists of 22 groups of four, with the 22 group winners and 10 best runners-up progressing to the Cup knockout stage.
That means that even if Bridgwater don’t finish top of Group A, finishing second could still be enough to secure a place in the Cup knockout stages.
However, with the other groups reaching their conclusions at the same time, there is no guarantee that a particular points total will be sufficient to rank among the ten best runners-up.
So, for Bridgwater, the objective is simple:
Get as many points as possible.
And after an impressive start to the league campaign, the squad will be looking to carry that momentum into another important afternoon in Devon.
𝗔𝗻𝗼𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝗯𝗶𝗴 𝗮𝗳𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗻𝗼𝗼𝗻
Today’s match also comes with an added significance.
Bridgwater currently have a 100% league record, placing them among a very small group of teams across the top four divisions of English men’s and women’s football yet to drop a league point.
But today isn’t about the league.
It’s about the FA WNL Cup, a place in the knockout stages and another opportunity for this squad to test itself against strong opposition.
With the group finely balanced, there’s plenty at stake.
One final group game. One final opportunity to make it count.
COME ON BRIDGWATER!