Lizzie Adams has seen and done it all in a Dartford shirt over the past eight seasons – but in her eyes, nothing compares to the FA Cup.
Over the years, she’s taken home cup winners medals and played and beaten numerous teams in the level above. But a loss to Oxford United in the second round of the FA Cup a few seasons ago remains one of her biggest profile matches to date.
And now, as she and the team prepare for Forest Green Rovers in the first round on Sunday – she wants nothing more than to put those ghosts to bed and go as far as she can in the competition.
She said: “The FA Cup is really special. Everybody says it’s the magic of the FA Cup and that rests on the fact that the opportunity and possibility is endless.
“You’re thrown into a competition that eventually the whole pyramid will be in. If you get through a round or two, there’s nothing stopping you playing a WSL team. It’s an amazing feeling to be in a competition with them.
“Obviously, it’s early rounds at the moment, and still a long way to go, but that possibility and opportunity, I think, is really exciting.
“We’ve won the cups and big games, but the game with the biggest profile was when we lost to Oxford United in the second round.
“I’d love to go one better this time. We’ve been joking about making sure we’re free in May for the final. So, the match is something we are all really looking forward to.”
Lizzie, 34, has been the team’s midfield dynamo for many years, but during the week she works as a Senior Community Relationship Manager at the Premier League, supporting local communities and women and girls’ football.
Despite being one of the senior players in the team, she has no plans to hang up her boots just yet.
She said: “I’m definitely working harder than I ever have. Whether that’s a psychological thing of wanting to make sure I can keep up, or whether it’s about the levels we are now at – getting better and better – I’m not sure.
“We’ve got a host of new faces in now and it’s lifted us and it’s exciting to be able to share the pitch with them – you have to keep working hard to be here.
“They bought a different sort of energy and different playing styles that have fitted into the principles of how we play and it’s creating a really positive vibe.
“Personally, I feel I’ve got a lot left to offer. Our focus, and my focus, is on winning the league and after being so close so many times, that’s the major aim of the squad as we feel we should be a level up at least.”
Co-managers Martin McCarthy and Connor Dymond have instilled a winning mentality into the squad, something that spurs the team and Lizzie on.
She continued: “The situation of our league is you have to win every game. You can’t slip up to win the league. So, when people talk about taking every game as it comes, we have that mentality. Every game is important.
“We try not to get too far ahead. Or think too far ahead.”
For now, the focus is on the FA Cup, and while the dream is reaching the latter rounds, they have a tough team on Sunday to get past first.
Lizzie added: “It was great to beat a team like QPR in the last round. We know we can compete at higher levels, so to come away with a win against them was massive. It was a massive confidence booster and it lays down a marker of what we’re about.
“Sunday’s opponents are a complete unknown. It’s not like QPR, who are from the same region, they are from a different area and that’s part of the fun.
“So many people have heard of the FA Cup. It shines a light on us as a team. The league is, and will always be the priority, it’s got to be the target this year, but this is an exciting match to be involved in.
“We won’t come away from the fundamentals of working hard, and getting the basics right.
“We can have a really positive experience on Sunday and build some momentum for the season – and that’s what we are focussed on doing.”
Dartford Women take on Forest Green Rovers in the first round of the FA Cup on Sunday at Princes Park, 2pm KO. Please come along, bring a friend or your family – and support the team.
Photos by Joe Kwok
