It’s been business as usual for the Women’s team who have started the season with an impressive five wins in five.
A huge change in personnel over the close season has meant a change in style and philosophy, but it hasn’t stopped their drive for success.
A top-of-the-table clash against Saltdean and a mouth-watering FA Cup tie against QPR Women are the next two fixtures on the cards.
And Co-Manager Martin McCarthy is relishing the prospect of the ‘big games’ that will act as a yard-stick to gauge how far his side has come.
He said: “You’ve got to go and challenge yourself against the best teams. We believe we should be in the league above, if not the league above that, but we’ve got to prove it by getting up there.
“We believe we are a match for anyone on our day. We’ve had wins against the sides in the division above, so we know where we are.
“We want the big games. If we get promoted there will be big games every week and that’s what we are building ourselves up for.”
With a host of players retiring, or moving on, Martin and Co-Manager Connor Dymond, had a busy summer searching for the right replacements.
The squad is very different-looking to the beginning of last season, but they have started this season full of confidence.
He continued: “Probably the most satisfying thing is the integration of the new players. We’ve bought in the likes of Amina, Leen, Mya and Leila and a lot of people came up to us asking if they were as good as the girls who left.
“We’ve gone in a different direction. Obviously, different players have different attributes, but these girls bring a bit of a freshness and energy and are very direct. Whereas, maybe, we had physicality before, we’ve got more technique and pace. I think Leen, for instance, has hit the ground running, scoring in every game.
“While teams couldn’t get the ball off us, now we can stretch teams and we have loads of pace to do this. We are restructuring some players to play in different positions.
“We’ve had some tough games. We’ve gone away to Millwall and we’ve been stuck there in the past, but we went there and it was probably our best performance of the season.
“We won 4-1 on Sunday in the FA Cup against AFC Greenwich Borough. The scoreline probably flattered them. If we had scored 10, I don’t think anyone would have even batted an eyelid.”
Things are also working well behind the scenes, with Martin quick to praise the togetherness off the pitch.
He continued: “We’ve got them in twice a week and we’re working with the different units because when you bring in new players, you can’t just expect them to understand what we’ve all done for the last number of years.
“It’s been quite refreshing for us managers. We’ve always said, we like to build a good group that owns its own dressing room. And the girls are doing lots of stuff away from the club, private training and getting together.
“Tony Burman and the guys have now got the Girls Academy up and running, which is another brilliant step in the right direction as a Club.
“There are teams we are facing and in the division above that don’t get to play at the main ground and don’t have an Academy, so these are things that will help us continue to build and get to where we want to be and its massively appreciated, not just from us, but from the supporters.”
Next up is Saltdean in the league, followed by QPR in the FA Cup. Both matches are sure to be fiercely contested.
He added: “Saltdean is a huge game, we’re always in and around each other. Obviously, they’ve got better this year. They’ve made some good signings. We believe we’ve made some good signings. And I actually believe that it’ll probably be between us two and Brentford for the league. So, while we want to win every game, it’s a game we don’t want to lose at this stage.
“Then it’s on to QPR. It’s a very well-established club for the women’s side, probably the most established club we’ve faced. We’ve had many seasons now where we’ve come up against teams in the division above and always given them a good game, so we don’t fear them, and we’ll do our research on them, and we’ll set the girls up well.
“The girls were excited to draw them. The FA Cup has changed this year. They put the bigger teams in earlier, so we’ve been challenged, but we’ll accept that challenge.
“They trained on Monday and Wednesday and we will do some team analysis stuff on Friday in preparation.
“I think if we can just go and get a result on Sunday, it will set us up massively for QPR. We hope we get lots of support at the ground for both matches to help the girls get over the line.”
Dartford Women take on Saltdean at Princes Park on Sunday, with a 1pm K.O. Sunday, 5 October, is the FA Cup tie against QPR, with a 2pm K.O. Please come and support our women’s side if you can.
