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Thornaby Women set to make history with 'unbelievable' occasion promised
THORNABY FC Women’s co-manager Abbey Lyle knows all about the magic of the FA Cup and she can’t wait for Teesdale Park to feel it this Sunday.
The Blues will make history by playing in the first round proper of the Adobe Women’s FA Cup for the first time against a team boasting international talent.
Liverpool Feds play in the Women’s National League, three divisions above Thornaby and just one promotion away from playing in the Championship.
Even though Thornaby are unbeaten in the northern section of the North-East Regional League and scoring goals for fun, clearly the Feds will arrive on Teesside as strong favourites.
Abbey, who played in the competition as a player for Middlesbrough, said: “The Feds have done incredibly well over the years to get to the level they have.
“They have expanded in recent years to a level where they have players on loan from Manchester United, for example, and are holding their own in that higher division.
“We know how good they are, what to expect, but we have been preparing the players for the big occasion. It will certainly be a little different to your normal Sunday at Teesdale Park this season.”
Liverpool’s Rachael Norney plays for Northern Ireland and defender Mayzee Davies represents Wales. Cadi Doran, Olivia Francis and Emily Cole have all had Wales Under-19s call-ups this season.
Thornaby know the challenge will be huge. The pressure on the day, in many respects, is off given that the target of reaching the first round has already been achieved.
Abbey, who manages the team alongside Claire Streeter, said: “It is unbelievable for the area to welcome a game like this to Thornaby. It is amazing for the town.
“The Feds are up there with some big teams. This gives us a chance to show where we are at and we will be going up against a standard we want to achieve ourselves.”
The memories of Thornaby’s penalty shoot-out victory at Rotherham United in the final qualifying round a few weeks ago remain fresh.
And fans are being urged to turn out in force on Sunday (kick-off 2pm) to witness a bit of history on Acklam Road.
Abbey said: “The last round for me and Claire was one of the best moments and we will cherish that forever.
“We had two coaches of supporters down there watching us, received lots of support online, and it was genuinely incredible after the difficult summer we had as a club. You would never think it would have been possible.
“Now we go into this game full of excitement. We are going to give this tie a good go and we want to make the whole town proud.”
Abbey added: “We had around 100 down at Rotherham, if we could double that and get 200 supporters inside Teesdale Park that would mean the world.
“The local community means everything to us. We would love to see everyone coming through the gates because that can be intimidating for the away team – and this is the FA Cup, so you just never know!”
*** Kick-off is 2pm on Sunday, November 3. Tickets on the gate are priced £3 adults, £2 concession and £1 for children.
