30th September 2020
By Danyal Khan
Cheltenham Town Ladies midfielder Alice Kempski believes that Thursday’s encounter with Swindon Town (7:45pm) should be a ‘quality’ game.
The Robinesses travel down to Fairford to face the team they played at the Jonny Rocks Stadium two seasons ago. An encounter which ended in a 2-2 draw.
A more recent encounter last season between these two sides ended in a tight 1-0 victory to Cheltenham with Georgia Brown scoring the only goal of the match on that occasion from a corner kick which she attacked at the near post.
Tom Davies’ side come into this game after winning their first league game of the season 1-0 in a tight affair against Chesham United which took place last Sunday at the Big Local Stadium.
Kempski reflected on all the positives from last weekend’s result and hopes they can continue the winning form going into Thursday.
She said: “It was great to get 3 points on the board.
“As a team, it was a strong performance and we take the positives forward as well as the learnings.
However, the central midfielder noted down the improvements that her side need to make going forward this season.
“We were a bit frantic perhaps down to first game nerves” Kempski said. “Moving forward, I believe we need to have a little more composure when passing the ball into the final third.”
The first opposition of the week are Swindon Town. A club which the Robinesses have done many dealings with off the pitch in terms of player recruitment and player sales.
The likes of Lauren Kayll and Ruby Scahill have joined Davies’ set up , whilst top scorer from last season for the Gloucestershire side Annie Martin went in the opposite direction.
Kempski described the rivalry between these two sides as ‘healthy competition’.
She went on to say: “A lot of the teams in this league have recruited well and strengthened.
“It should be a quality game under the lights.”
The managerial set up has changed at the club this season. Alex Cheal leaving lead to the appointment of ex Stoke City Ladies and Wolverhampton Wanderers W.F.C manager Tom Davies.
And already, it is clear to see that Davies has carried on the great work that Cheal produced with this side last season.
When asked to compare the coaching styles of both managers, the midfielder drew a lot of similarities between the two.
Kempski said: “Both Alex and Tom have coaching styles that suited the team and it aims moving forward.
“It is clear that Tom and the coaching staff are working hard behind the scenes to create a clear plan for the team.”
