Cheltenham Town Women manager Tom Davies admits that, despite a difficult 2-0 loss to Plymouth Argyle yesterday (which saw his side register no shots on target), he was proud of his team’s performance.
“First half, the players did everything I wanted. We set out how we needed to, and we were a lot more composed on the ball compared to Kidderminster.
“We had great depth and great width, which is exactly what I’ve been after and what we’ve worked on this week.
“Our decision-making was much better; we were brilliant in that aspect, and we kept the ball in the right moments and didn’t overplay, which is important,” Davies said.
Caitlin Smith thought she had given the away side the lead after 35 minutes, but controversially the goal was ruled out for offside.
Plymouth took the lead on the stroke of half-time through Charlotte Whitmore, before former Robin Phoebie Poole doubled their lead from the penalty spot.
Defeat at Kayte Lane. #CTWFC #FAWNL pic.twitter.com/t7kPOAwcBT
— Cheltenham Town Women FC (@CTWomenFC) October 5, 2025
Injuries have been a struggle for Davies’ side so far this season, with 19-year-old Una Lue out for three months with a shoulder injury.
However, yesterday’s game did see another 19-year-old return to action, Clarabella Hall.
Hall missed the 5-1 victory over Kidderminster Harriers the weekend before, and Davies admitted that she is an important part of the squad.
“Bella [Hall] was struggling in the Bournemouth game, and we wanted to give her time to come back.
“She’s an important player because of the fact that she puts the ball in the back of her net.”
Davies continued, “It doesn’t denote the rest of the players and how important they are and the work that they’re doing. I thought we played really well today.
“We frustrated them in certain moments. Obviously, when the game starts getting stretched in the second half, we’ve left ourselves open, which is going to happen.”
The brightest spark for the Robinesses was another young player, Louise Guymira.
The former Aston Villa striker came on in the 53rd minute and proved a handful for Argyle’s defence.
Next weekend, Cheltenham face a trip to AFC Wimbledon, who have struggled in the early stages of the season, picking up their first three points against Billericay Town on Sunday.
Looking ahead to the game, Davies said, “We know that Wimbledon are a tough test. I think last year was a really great example of that.
“Our home game, they punished us, and they were strong, and those set-piece goals were important.
“Away from home, I thought we were fantastic. It was one of our best performances of the year, and I thought we deserved those three points.
“One of the sides has to take that ownership. One of the sides has to be the best version of themselves. They’ve got a win now, so there’s going to be confidence there.
“But there’s confidence from us in terms of the way they’re playing. We understand where we’re at and we understand what we’ve got to do.
“There’s no anxiety around next week. It’s a case of doing the right things, and it will pay off. And it has paid off already so far this season with wins.”
The defeat to Argyle leaves Cheltenham Town ninth in the FA Women’s National League Southern Premier Division, whilst Plymouth climb to third.
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