Cheltenham Town Ladies manager Tom Davies says his team still have to remain focused after further increasing their lead at the top of the Women’s National League Division One South West.
The Robins beat Larkhall Athletic 4-0 to notch a second win in four days and go eight points ahead of nearest challengers AFC Bournemouth.
However, the Cherries, as well as the two teams below them, have three games in hand on Cheltenham, with sixth-place Exeter having five games in hand.
And with Davies’ side still having to face both Bournemouth and Southampton Women’s, the only team to beat them in the league this season, he knows the title race is far from over.
He said: “There’s so many games still to be played and so many teams that need to play each other, so we’ll focus on the table at the end of the season and see what happens.
“We can only do what we’ve been challenged to do. We’ve played the games that we’ve played and we’ve won the games that we’ve won.
“We had a game today and our objective was to win it regardless of what happens in the league and who plays or doesn’t play.”
After going four weeks without a game over the festive period, Town returned to action with two games in four days, and picked up six points.
Cheltenham were dominant in Thursday’s trip to Swindon but only won 1-0, so Davies was pleased that his side took their chances better against Larkhall.
“We wanted to be more clinical on Thursday, and we’ve taken our chances better today. With the games we’ve got coming up, that’s going to be really important.
“We’re creating chances on a regular basis now which is really important for us. I’m happy that we’re getting people into good positions and scoring different types of goals.”
After a relatively scrappy first half, the Robins stepped it up after the break and ran in three goals, also making it five straight clean sheets in the league.
“We weren’t fantastic in the first half, we were a little bit better in the second half, but overall, the result’s the most important thing and keeping another clean sheet is pleasing,” Davies said.
“The way we moved the ball at stages in and the way we had more possession is pleasing and it’s what we’ve wanted to do.”
It was also a day when Cheltenham’s two January signings further consolidated their place in the squad, with Holly Reed starting her first game and Emily Owen getting on the scoresheet for the first time.
Owen almost scored on her debut, but put things right against Larkhall. Davies said: “The save from the Swindon ‘keeper was fantastic, but her goal scoring prowess in the box has always been there. so I’m pleased that she’s got that one to make up for Thursday.
The Robins now host Maidenhead on Sunday as they look to continue their charge towards promotion to the third tier.
Davies added: “We’ll focus on the next game now. We’ll look at their strengths and weaknesses and try and be successful in that game.
“Every team has different threats, Maidenhead beat Exeter the other day and kept a clean sheet, so we’ve got to make sure that we’re focused and disciplined.”
