Match Preview

Lincoln United travel to the West-Midlands on Sunday to face Shifnal Town FC in the first round of the Vitality Women’s FA Cup.

This will be the furthest ‘The Whites’ have ever progressed in the FA Cup, with every game they play in the competition being a historical landmark for the side.

Speaking on the occasion, manager Chris Funnell said: “This is why we do it, for these big occasions. We’ve had some pretty big games. This is why we’re together as a group, to try and push ourselves as far as we can go.

“We’ve had the mindset for the last year that we couldn’t lose regardless of who we played, Chesterfield were right on our tail.”
With quite the distance between the two sides, knowledge on the opposition is minimal for Funnell’s side. Shifnal sit at the top of the West Midlands Regional Women’s Football League, with five wins and one draw.

They’ve scored three or more in every game, bar one and failed to keep a clean sheet in all but one match.

Shifnal hold a defence that is unable to keep a door shut and Funnel hoped his side will be able to exploit this weakness in the opposition.
“We’re in great goal scoring form. We’ve scored more than five in every single occasion other than one.

“It’s got all the makings to be a great game. They’ve got the comfort of being at home and we’ve got a lengthy journey but we are in the higher league.”

An injury to Kirsty Richardson last game gave ‘The Whites’ more goalkeeper trouble. Early signs of the injury point to a meniscus tear, meaning keeper Rosie Davison will be goalkeeper for the fixture.

Match Report by Luther Odame