Enfield Town beat Loughborough Foxes 1-0 in the FAWPL Plate Quarter-Finals on Sunday in a thrilling, physically demanding encounter which saw the underdogs through. We caught up with Town winger Chloe Bassett after the win.
SK: What did you reckon to your chances against a Northern Division Club?
CB: I’ve played against teams higher up in the leagues and teams playing in Northern Leagues and during these fixtures they’ve always shown to be more physical than teams in the South. The management team analysed their results, watched their games and created an analysis report, this gave us the information we needed and we had the belief we could get a positive result.
SK: Can you tell us about the only goal scored?
CB: Top quality! – I made a run on the right hand side, and overlapped Regan Coleman. I remember screaming for her to play the ball inside for me. She used this as a disguise, cut onto her left foot and from 20 yards out Reg curled an absolute screamer in the top corner of the far side.
SK: How did the remainder of the tie go, any nervous moments?
CB: It was a very open game from the word go, on a big pitch. We really controlled the game well in the first half; we played some great football, and pressed really high. They just couldn’t cope. The manager [Clare Ford] spoke to us at half-time about being clever and sticking to the plan as a group, the second-half we soaked up lots of pressure and defended well. As the game went on Loughborough came at us more and Kerrie [Marlborough] made a crucial save in the last minute to tip the ball round the post. The last 10 minutes seemed to go on forever.
SK: Is there any team you fancy or want to avoid in the semi-finals?
CB: All the remaining teams are here on merit and all teams will be tough. Keynsham would be preferable as they are playing in an equivalent league, however it’s a semi-final, one off fixture and we will be ready and prepared with whoever we get. (Enfield have since been drawn at home to Northern Division Newcastle United)
SK: What’s your opinion on the rest of your season and what can be achieved?
CB: We still have half of our league games to play and we want top 3. We won’t be getting promoted, however a top 3 finish is possible. This weekend has given us the belief to push on and as a group we understand the importance of winning and building on our performances.
Pictured – Action from Enfield’s league fixture with Cambridge United.
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