Exeter City FC

Exeter City Ladies captain Emily Toogood says the side are looking forward to turning out at St James Park when they welcome Buckland Athletic in the semi-final of the Westward Development Devon Senior Cup.

The match, which is sponsored by the Exeter City Supporters’ Trust, kicks off at 2pm on Sunday, February 17 and the City squad will be looking to book themselves a place in the final with home support.

Ahead of the match, Emily said: “There’s a good atmosphere at the moment. It’s a really big game and we’re looking forward to playing at St James Park. We have a lot of young players in the squad, so it’s going to be a big experience for them. They (Buckland Athletic) are doing really well in the league above, but we’ve played against them before and it’s been a good game.

“They’re a well organised side from the league above and they’ve got some ex-City players there and a few I know quite well but it’s nothing that we can’t handle.

“I’m a big supporter of the club anyway so it’s going to be a good experience.”

Zoe Watkins, who joined the team prior to the start of this season, says City have reason to go into the game with confidence following some impressive performances recently, and hard work in training.

She said: “There is a big hype around the game and we’re looking forward to it. We’ve prepared with two training sessions a week. There’s a bit of nerves, which is a good thing, and also there’s a bit of excitement. It’s a big ground and for a lot of the girls it’s the biggest they will have played at, me included.

“We’ve won our last five games, we’ve been training hard. We’ve missed a few games over the last few weeks due to the weather conditions but apart from that our form is good and we’ve been able to go over tactical work in training.

“We’ve had a lot of support from the club and to get support from the fans would really make the experience, so hopefully we get a few supporters down and we get a good crowd.”

The City Ladies’ manager, Clive Watts, believes that home support on Sunday could be crucial to helping his team over the line as they come up against a strong Buckland team. Clive was also keen to praise the football club, and the Supporters’ Trust, for their support with staging the game.

He explained: “If we can, for want of a better word, pack the park then it will add to women’s football in the area, which is absolutely key. If we can get Exeter City Ladies and women’s football on the map, then it’s going to be a good job done.

“We never thought 18 months ago that we would have this opportunity so it’s a huge thanks and hopefully we can repay them with a great performance on Sunday.”