21st February 2017
Cheltenham Town Ladies manager Graham Fletcher oversaw his side’s progression through to the semi-finals of the County Cup as they won 5-0 over Bristol Ladies Union at Petersfield Park.
Interview by Lawrence Taylor, University of Gloucestershire Media Graduate
Fletcher was aware that his side was expected to win but feels that the score was “fair on both sides.”
“We always knew we were favourites. I thought at half time with the score 4-0 it was just a question of whether we score more or if they could hold out a little bit. I think in the end it probably worked out quite well for both teams we won quite comfortably and they didn’t get thrashed.”
Last year Cheltenham reached the final of the County Cup but lost to Forest Green Rovers in the final. However, Fletcher is hopeful that his side can go one step further this year.
“We got to the final last year and you always want to try and do better. We want to make the final as much as anyone else. We’ve got to push onto the next round and hopefully we’ll make it in April.”
Although a good cup run is important for the club Fletcher still has his sights focused on a high league position.
“It would be lovely to win the cup but I also want to finish in the top five and we’ve still got a lot of hard games to play.”
This result was Cheltenham fifth win in as many games at Petersfield Park and Fletcher believes that the pitch favours his sides style of play.
“It’s turning into a bit of a fortress for us. We like to play by keeping the ball on the ground, we like to play the ball wide and we’ve got two quick players upfront who are going to take their chances.”
Cheltenham travel to Brislington Ladies next weekend in the Women’s Premier League and Fletcher hopes that his side can keep their winning mentality.
“We’re on the road for the next three or four weeks so travel is always going to be difficult. The mentality of the team is that they now know that they’re good enough to compete in this league.”
