Swindon Town Women’s reached the final of the Wiltshire County Cup, courtesy of a 2-0 against Royal Wootton Bassett as the red’s manager Richard Wood hails an ‘important’ victory.
“(I’m) Pleased to get through to the final. It’s important for us as a club to try and win the county cup and be the dominant team within the county.
“The first thing you’ve got to do is get to the final and that’s what’s been achieved.”
Elise Haines opened the scoring with an excellent strike from range after just nine minutes. 16-year-old Elise Clayton then doubled Swindon’s before the interval.
9: Elise Haines picks up the ball and takes aim from range and it loops over the keeper 👊
— Swindon Town Women Football Club (@SwindonTownWFC) February 16, 2025
[1-0] #STFC https://t.co/aHBIqPV7lu
Wood was pleased with the contributions of both goal scorers.
“Elise (Haines) has got that within her (outside the box strike)! Both Elises (Haines & Clayton) always have that ability to strike a ball well. I’m really pleased for her (Haines) and I thought it settled her down into the game and I thought she had a really good game.”
Swindon are the holders of the Wiltshire County Cup after beating Purton 4-0 last season.
“Winning is a nice habit to get into and we’ve had a bit of a run where we’ve picked up some draws and not necessarily had the results perhaps our performances have deserved, so it’s pleasing for us to get a couple of wins and going to the final of the cup, it’s good for the group.”
Through to the final of the Wiltshire County Cup 🏆#STFC pic.twitter.com/uxNCDtw6O1
— Swindon Town Women Football Club (@SwindonTownWFC) February 16, 2025
The Robins are positioned in third of the Women’s National League Division One South West, five points off league leaders Bournemouth who have won every game this season (13 from 13).
Wood will be looking ahead to their next game on Sunday against Portishead Town who are in the relegation zone.
“I think with Portishead, they’re fighting for their lives in the league at the moment, there’s a bit of a scrap between themselves, Abingdon and Bournemouth Sports, so we know they’ll give absolutely everything and we can’t take it for granted just because of the league position.
“They’re going to be really fired up and every game for them is a cup final at the moment because three points make the difference for them potentially whether they can stay up or not so I’m certain the players will put in a huge effort against us and we’ve just got to maintain our standards and work hard and I’m sure we can get a result too.”
