Premier League sides test their mettle against Super League opponents

With the weather threatening to devastate the women’s football programme yet again, Sent Her Forward takes just a brief look at some of the potential highlights if games survive

Chichester City lost to Super League Durham before Portsmouth beat the Super League side in last year’s competition (Photo: Zoe Vicarage)

The FAW Cup reaches a key phase this weekend as teams from the second tier of the Super League join the fray.

And it’s the ideal opportunity for Premier League sides with Super League ambitions to test themselves against teams already at the next level.

Swindon dealt triple blow over ‘ineligible player’

Swindon had enjoyed an excellent season until recent weeks (Photo: Darran Stevens)

Swindon Town have been hit by a triple whammy after fielding an ineligible player in three competitions.

The runaway leaders of the FAWPL Division One South West have been docked three points, dealing a blow to their hopes of promotion to the Premier League Southern. And after losing their place in the FAW Cup earlier this month, they have also now been ejected from the FAWPL Plate.

Cardiff Super League hopes dashed

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Cardiff will not be considered for promotion, even if they win the league and play-off (Photo: Jorda Hampton)

Premier League title contenders Cardiff City will be denied a place in the FAW Super League, even if they win the division and subsequent Super League play-off.

Rules requiring FAWSL members to be affiliated to English football associations mean the side, who are currently second in the FAWPL Southern division, cannot join, even if they meet all other eligibility criteria.

All aboard! The Eastbourne FA Cup roller-coaster is back in town

FAW Cup weekend: Sent Her Forward turns the spotlight on one of the South East’s unlikely cup successes

Eastbourne Town defied the odds to beat QPR in the last round, with a goal from Jacey Samson (Photo: Kevin Richards)

The Eastbourne Town fairy story writes another chapter on Sunday – snow (white) permitting – when the team from the third tier of the women’s winter pyramid host Premier League Derby County in the third round of the FAW Cup.

Emma Parslow’s side have already gone further than the club have ever gone before and have knocked out three higher-ranked teams on the way, including Premier League Queens Park Rangers in the last round.

And now they stand on the verge of the last 32 – where the superstars of the FAW Super League 1 join the competition.

South East Premier sides kept apart in League Cup semi-finals

Herne Bay won the League Cup at the first attempt last season

Herne Bay’s bid to retain the South East Counties League Cup that they won as underdogs last season has been given a boost with a semi-final draw against the lowest-ranked team left in the competition.

Anthony Deer’s side, who, as a Division One East outfit, shocked the then Premier Division champions-elect Bexhill United in last season’s final, have been kept apart from their rivals for this season’s Premier title, Dartford Royals, and instead have a journey to West Sussex – to play Wivelsfield Green.

Premier League wide open as leading clubs all win again

The fight for the Premier League crown – and that Super League opportunity – continues to thrill, as the leading contenders rack up victory after victory.

On a weekend in which all four of the top five teams who were in action won again, the divide between the two halves of the Southern Division became even greater.

Wivelsfield profit from enterprise of their partners in Chrimes

Wivelsfield Green (Chrimes 2) 2-1 Burgess Hill Town (Wheatley)

Emma Chrimes’ equaliser for Wivelsfield Green just before half-time shook Burgess Hill (Photo: Colin Bowman)

On a weekend of cup shocks in the men’s game, it should not have come as too much of a surprise that the underdog should triumph in the local derby with “history” at the Hanbury Stadium.

Wivelsfield Green, of the South East Counties Division One West, deservedly beat Burgess Hill, from the Premier Division to make the semi-finals of the League Cup – not that Wivi have had the most arduous journey to the last four, having been given a bye in the first round and a walkover in their second.

But today they had to earn their reward – and they did, with a performance full of fight and commitment, and by creating enough chances to ensure that they could afford a few wayward efforts.

Beleaguered West Ham seek Brighton revenge

Brighton came back from 2-0 down to beat West Ham 6-2 in the FAW Cup two weeks ago (Photo: Geoff Penn/BHA)

The controversy over West Ham’s ejection from the Essex County Cup for putting Sunday’s Premier League match against Brighton first threatens to overshadow what could be one of the league’s most crucial games of the season.

The Londoners are still very much in the title race but will need to overcome the league leaders on Sunday to maintain a realistic hope of overhauling the four clubs ahead of them.

And with the Hammers still smarting from their 6-2 loss to the same club two weeks ago in the FAW Cup, after leading 2-0, there will be little need for motivation on either side when they meet on Sunday at Culver Road, Lancing.

Red tape and fixture clashes at the root of West Ham’s downfall

West Ham United’s ejection from the Essex Women’s Cup appears to be the price they have paid for entering their first team in two different county-cup competitions.

The FAW Premier League club find themselves the victims of fixture clashes caused by a build-up of games in four different competitions – and the apparent inflexibility of football administrators.

The Essex FA, which has thrown its county cup holders out for failing to honour their quarter-final tie against Billericay Town this Sunday, has now clarified the reasons behind its decision.

West Ham kicked out of County Cup over fixture clash

Photo by kind permission of Bill Robinson, West Ham United

Essex County Cup holders West Ham United are facing a fight to get back into the competition after being kicked out for failing to fulfil their quarter-final fixture against Billericay Town.

The Essex FA decision initially triggered a wave of angry reactions on social media, but with negotiations still continuing, despite announcements by both parties that West Ham had been “removed”, those involved are now adopting a lower profile.

But as things stand, West Ham, who won the trophy last season for the third time, are no longer in this season’s competition, and Billericay have been awarded a place in the semi-finals, where they are due to play Barking.