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Team braced for debut in FA Cup first round

Ben Winshipin Workington
News imageBBC A team photo of Workington Town Women FC at an evening training session. The players, in their navy blue training kit, line up in two rows - with the women in the front knelt down on one knee. The coaches are lined up on either side of the picture.BBC
Workington Town Women are preparing for their debut in the Women's FA Cup first round

A women's football team is braced to make history having qualified for the first round of the Women's FA Cup for the first time in the club's history.

Workington Town Women will make their first round debut against Mancunian Unity Women at 14:00 GMT on 1 November after the fixture was postponed due to Storm Boelo.

Injured former club captain Naomi Foster said the achievement was "absolutely phenomenal" and a testament to the way the women's game had grown in west Cumbria.

The sixth-tier side reached the first round proper with a surprise win against six-time FA Women's Cup champions Doncaster Rovers Belles in the final qualifying round.

Workington beat the 13-time finalists 4-3 on penalties after a late Cassie Donald equaliser brought the score to 1-1 in normal time.

Since the win, the club has featured on Colin Murray's BBC 5 Live Sport show and the players have enjoyed seeing their faces on a billboard in the town.

News imageInjured defender Naomi Foster is wearing the team's blue training kit at an evening training session and smiles into the camera. She's stood in the foreground, with the rest of the team behind her left shoulder.
Naomi Foster had surgery on her ACL in June and had to watch the penalty shootout from the sidelines

Foster said the attention had been "surreal".

"It just goes to show what we're really trying to build," she said, adding: "To be able to advertise that in our local area and beyond is fantastic."

Manager Paul Mackenzie hoped the cup run would inspire the next generation.

"It's a great achievement for us and hopefully this will be the start of a momentum that will build for years to come with some of the younger women that are in the team and the girls that are playing junior football locally," Mackenzie said.

News imageManager Paul Mackenzie is smiling as he's wrapped up in navy blue training kit and a club-branded blue bobble hat. He's at the team's evening training session and is stood in front of the pitch.
Manager Paul Mackenzie hopes his side can reach the second round on Sunday

Workington will host Oldham-based side Mancunian Unity Women, who are in the division above.

Foster said: "Hopefully that home crowd will be there in great numbers to support us.

"We know we need to pull something off and we're kind of looking at the magic of Fleetwood Town this week and hoping that rubs off on us as well," she added, a reference to the Leaue Two team beating Arsenal in the League Cup.

The winner of Sunday's game at the Fibrus Community Stadium in Workington will face Notts County Women in the second round on 15 November.

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