Cheltenham Town Women manager Tom Davies believes that, despite a 2-0 loss to promotion hopefuls Oxford United, his side were “a team we can identify ourselves with again”.
Emma Thompson gave the home side the lead just after half-time from a corner, with Maisy Baker adding a second from distance late on, her attempted cross left by everyone and finding the far corner of the goal.
Davies described the two goals as ‘soft’ but was much happier with his side’s performance compared to games against Real Bedford and Gloucester City.
Thompson to put us ahead! #COYY pic.twitter.com/ntfM8WJkTd
— Oxford United Women (@OfficialOUWFC) January 25, 2026
“Unless they are moments of magic, which they aren’t, you’re always going to feel hard done by. Saying that, our aggressiveness in terms of our press, our anticipation was better, and we did all the right things.
“We are just missing those finer details we need to figure out at the moment, but it was a performance we can identify ourselves with again, and it’s a lot closer to where we want to be.”
Cheltenham welcomed new signing Georgia Galley straight into the starting eleven after her arrival from Keynsham Town mid-week. The 18-year-old played an hour at the MGroup Stadium before being replaced by Louise Guymira, but the young striker impressed her new manager.
“I was incredibly pleased with her today. We knew that she was just going to work hard and graft for however long she was on.
“Today, for her, was just about seeing how she stood up to those tests. She was up against two really experienced, two top-level centre backs.”
Naomi Bedeau arrived at Oxford in the summer after winning the FAWNL Northern Premier Division with Nottingham Forrest last season, whilst Riva Casley returned to Oxford for a third spell in the summer after WSL2 experience with Portsmouth last campaign.
“Georgia held her own today. She was able to hold the ball up in the right moments, make those bounce passes with the midfield and press their backline correctly and at the right times. She took to the opportunity very well.
“From now on, it’s about adding to that department and making our front-line really competitive with Amelie Curtis, Louise Guymira, Issy Newns, and Bella Hall. Having those players to bring off the bench and impact the game is the boost we need.”
The Robinesses now have a week off from competitive action before the long trip away to Lewes FC on February 8th. Davies’ side has already faced Lewes twice this season. The league meeting at Kayte Lane saw Cheltenham earn a 2-1 victory, whilst the FA Cup meeting saw Lewes beat Cheltenham in dominant fashion, winning 4-0.
We found a charger!
— Cheltenham Town Women FC (@CTWomenFC) November 2, 2025
A big win at Kayte Lane #CTWFC #FAWNL pic.twitter.com/t6JlAHpYsF
“We’ve had two very different games against Lewes this season,” Davies said. “We know the Dripping Pan is a tough place to go and a hard place to pick up points.
“We are going to work hard this week. We have a friendly planned for the weekend to make sure we can keep our levels from today the same, and we will work on those details and make sure they are even better. The intensity is back, the way we play and the pride in our performances.
“We just need to affect those small details to find that final pass or goal and make the difference. This weekend gives us the opportunity to do that and go into Lewes full of confidence.”
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