After a thrilling end to the 2020/2021 Season resulted in the lifting of the Devon County Cup, Exeter City Women return to action this weekend as Portishead Town are the visitors to Speeds Meadow.
City returned to training at the beginning of the month and will be eager to put the hard work of the past fortnight into practice on Sunday. Abbie Britton and Aaron Wakley have added Goalkeeper Abbi Bond to the Squad over the summer, with another new addition set to be announced before the weekend fixture. With the entire playing squad from last season retained, the momentum gained from the win on Final’s Day will be key as preparations for the new season now begin to gather pace.
Portishead Town are newly promoted to the National League division in which City play. With two curtailed seasons, the Football Association took applications for promotion over the summer, with the North Somerset side successfully obtaining upward movement. Town are a good example of the difficulty faced by Clubs over the past eighteen months, having only played 10 league fixtures in that time.
In 2020/2021, Portishead won both of their League games, dispatching of Middlezoy and Torquay. However, the greater source of success came in the FA CUP. Winning a closely fought encounter at Weston Super Mare by three goals to two, Town thrashed Torquay United by twelve goals to nil, before beating Sherborne Town. With a path to the First Round Proper starting to open up, they travelled to Cheltenham Town where the Bristol Road side were narrowly beaten by three goals to one. The competitive nature of that tie, against a long time foe in Cheltenham, perhaps the best indication of what Abbie Britton and Aaron Wakley’s team face on Sunday.
Shannon Holloway, Nathalie Zajaczkowsi and Emily Lindsey were all goalscoring threats for Portishead last season, Lindsey opening the scoring in that FA Cup tie in Gloucestershire.
With three games in a week, this will prove the ideal opportunity to access the squad and give players some important game time after the summer break. Starting pre season against a team that City will face in the coming league campaign is just the type of competitive fixture that will help in those all important preparations.
Match Details
Venue: Speeds Meadow, Cullompton
Pricing: £3 Adults, £1 Concessions
Refreshments Available
Kick Off: 2pm