MATCH PREVIEW: WOMEN'S COUNTY CUP
The Birmingham County FA Cup Finals come thick and fast this week with a mouth-watering Black Country derby on offer next as West Bromwich Albion Women (WBA) and Wolverhampton Wanderers Women (Wolves) come together for glory in the 2022 Women’s County Cup. The tie is being played at the home of Walsall FC, The Banks’s Stadium on Wednesday 11 May with kick off set for 7.30pm.
These two teams have met numerous times before, and already twice this season in the FA Women’s National League Northern Premier Division, with Wolves coming out on top both times. However, tonight's fixture is a Black Country derby and a Cup Final rolled into one so anything can happen, and WBA will be hoping to take home the silverware for bragging rights.
This will be Wolves 7th appearance in the Women’s County Cup final, having picked up the honours twice in that time back in 1999 and 2000. Their last appearance came in 2010 where they faced Birmingham City Ladies who completed their run of 8 straight successes in the final of the competition on that night. 12 years later, Wolves are back in the final and will be fighting for their 3rd win and to lift the trophy.
WBA have appeared 3 times in this final, collecting runners-up trophies each time, having played the Blues and Coventry United Ladies in these fixtures who are both playing in the top two tiers of the Women’s Football Pyramid. After two quick concession finals in 2006 and 2008, WBA didn’t make their third appearance until last time out in 2019. Now here in 2022, the first post-Covid run of County Cups, they are back to make amends and will be hoping to lift the trophy for the first time.
For WBA, their route to the final has been fairly straight forward beginning with a bye in the first round before meeting Sutton Coldfield Town Women in the second, who they brushed aside with a 4-1 victory. In the third round, they met Division One National League outfit Solihull Moors Women who put up a strong fight but WBA were ultimately too strong in the end and came away with a 2-0 win to put themselves into the quarter final. Leafield Athletic Ladies were next up, another Division One National League team but West Bromwich Albion Women swept them aside putting 5 past their keeper with only 1 in return and up next were Stourbridge. In the semi-final, although the Regional League Premier Division outfit put on a good display, WBA showed their class and the game finished 4-0, as they booked their place in tonight’s final at Walsall FC.
Meanwhile, if their opponents route was straight forward, Wolves made even more light work of getting to the final tonight. They also received a bye in the first round, before being handed an away win walkover in the second to make their way to the third round without even playing a minute of football. They met Bedworth United Ladies, a Division One National League team and stunningly put 9 past them with no return for an easy pass into the quarter final. Coming up against Knowle Ladies who ply their trade in the Regional League Division One was a similar story, this time smashing 4 goals into the net without conceding to put themselves in the semi-final. Next came the challenge of Boldmere St Michaels Women who have since been promoted to the league that tonight’s finalists play in, but again, Wolves turned on the style and came away with a 5-0 victory. Having reached the final without conceding, they will be hoping this run continues tonight to take the trophy home.
Further Details:
Admission
£5 Adults | £2 Concessions (Over 60s, Students with NUS, U18s)
Pay on the gate is available (Card/Phone Payments ONLY)
Purchase e-Tickets in advance here, right up until kick-off
Turnstiles open 6.30pm
West Bromwich Albion supporters to enter through Turnstile 19
Wolverhampton Wanderers supporters are to enter through Turnstile 17
Refreshments
Kiosk will be open from 6.30pm until 9.15pm and the Priory Bar will be open before kick-off for all spectators.
Please note: The Banks’s Stadium is cashless. Payments will only be accepted via card or phone.
Programme
You can also access the programme on the day when visiting Walsall FC by scanning a QR code.
Match Officials
Referee: Simon Lane
Assistant Referee: Donald Williams
Assistant Referee: Luke Walker
Fourth Official: Ryan Jennings
Presenter
Tonight's trophy will be presented by Birmingham County FA's Non-Executive Director, Sandra Hampton