Cheltenham Town Ladies secured their first away win of the season against Billericay Town this weekend after the in-form Phoebie Poole converted the only goal of the game.
A cagey opening 45 minutes saw the two sides head in level at half time with neither side breaking the deadlock, but a lethal cross from wingback Daisy Ackerman saw the number nine Poole calmly dispatch the ball into the back of the net moments after the second half commenced.
Despite the scrappy first half, a reinvigorated side appeared after the break with Cheltenham Town Ladies’ manager Tom Davies reflecting on how they improved: “It wasn’t the way we wanted to play [in the first half] we wanted to play into feet at times.
“We wanted to try and play high and wide in areas, but we were conscious that we needed to switch from the midfield, and we didn’t do that enough but there were times where we played really well and got into those good areas.
“I think we found their weaknesses a bit better, Em [Owen] brought it up at half time, we needed to play on the opposition weaknesses at times rather than how we necessarily want to play and I think we did that really well in the second half, we created and had better opportunities and profited from that.”
After back-to-back losses, manager Davies was more than delighted to put an end to their poor run of form: “The main thing is I’m extremely proud of the players, they were phenomenal, they grafted, they applied everything.
“We played really well and kept the ball well at times. We tried to find those connections, but we were just a little bit off in the final third area at times.
“We didn’t create that final chance and we knew coming in at half time that we just had to repeat the first half, and need to keep up that hard work, it’ll pay off in the end and that’s exactly what it did today.”
Davies’ side have had to cope with injuries and illness as of late with the skilful Lily Billingham falling victim in their recent game against Oxford United but despite the absences, the manager handed promising striker Una Lue her first start for the club following a run of sub appearances.
The Robinesses’ manager praised the youngster: “I’m delighted for her, she’s worked really hard for it, she’s understanding that it’s different, getting used to getting those minutes.
“She’s come in from the start today and put in an absolute shift, she’s worked really hard, got in great areas, and put loads of pressure on the back line which is what we needed.
“Her work allowed us to get those changes but just overall really proud of her, she’s doing the right thing and she’s gone on to apply herself and it’s such a great moment for her and we’re all just so proud!”
A second half filled with confidence saw the visitors leave with all three points, securing their first away win of the season and their first league clean sheet.
Earning all three points saw the Robinesses move up into seventh place, providing them with much needed confidence.
“It’s huge for us, there are teams in and around us in Oxford [United], MK [Dons] and Billericay [Town] so I’m really pleased we got six points out of those.
“We were unfortunate not to get a draw against Oxford, but those things happen, but we’re really pleased with the away win, really pleased with the clean sheet.
“We spoke about it being a springboard now, we’ve got to move forward now and take it into Chatham and the FA Cup, and we want to use this as a kick in the right direction, a momentum shift.
“The group are really happy about it obviously so now it gives us that little bit more energy and motivation to do what we know we can do, it’s good to say those things but it’s even better to put it into place and get those performances, really happy for everyone at the club and happy moving forward.”
The Robinesses are set to face Chatham Town next as they look to continue the momentum shift before turning their attention to the FA Cup with their opponent yet to be determined – the draw takes place at 13:00.
