‘Give a good account of ourselves’ – Sharman excited for FAWNL Cup opener
Matt Sharman sees the FA Women’s National League Cup against London Bees as an opportunity for his young side to face senior opposition.
Our Women’s Under-19s will make the trip to the Bees Stadium for the opening game of the FAWNL Cup group phase on Thursday night (7.45pm UK), with Real Bedford and Northampton facing each other in our group. Supporters can attend the game and buy tickets online via London Bees' website.
The competition provides a unique challenge for our Academy players, which will be made up of Under-19s and Under-16s stepping up, to test themselves against experienced individuals in the senior game.
We began our 2026/27 campaign with a 1-0 win over Southampton in our Professional Game Academy League opener last week and coach Matt is hoping to use that as momentum for tomorrow night’s clash in the cup.
“The team is in a really good place at the moment,” Matt told us. “I think the win against Southampton has given a lot of confidence. Obviously, we've looked back on everything from that game to really take the good stuff into training while also just focussing on the areas that we need to improve as well.
“But the girls are in a good place. I think they're all looking forward to the match on Thursday, so it should be a good evening to start our cup run.”
It won’t be the first time this Under-19s group will have faced senior opposition already this term, having gone toe-to-toe against tier three and four teams during their pre-season preparations.
Although this will be in a competitive mode with plenty at stake, Matt believes those clashes in the summer will provide a good peddle stool to what to expect on Thursday night.
“Our pre-season was the perfect test for our players,” he added. “We've faced every challenge that we could possibly face, and going into Thursday's match, obviously the girls will know what the feeling is like playing against older players, in a different environment to what they're used to, with potentially some fans in the ground as well.
“There's obviously going to be the physical element, but I think our players are competing every training session over the last couple of weeks, which has been amazing to see. So, I think if they go in with that same mindset into the match on Thursday, we can minimise what they can do to us physically.
“The girls have all experienced that during pre-season, so I think everything that comes for Thursday, it shouldn't be anything new for the players. We should just be really excited to go out and give a good account of ourselves.”