00:00The women's FA Cup has been around for 56 years and during the last 20 of them, very
00:04select teams have dominated. Manchester City have won it three times, Chelsea six and Arsenal
00:09have a record 14 Cups.
00:12And it's not just the WSL clubs, Chatham Town women's are also breaking records. It's
00:16the first time the club has ever gotten to the round of 16 and their manager Keith Bonas
00:20is a previous winner of the Cup with Charlton Athletic.
00:24So to find out who their opponents would be in the next round, the players, manager, fans
00:28and youth teams gathered around and there were a few favourites.
00:37They had brought down higher league opposition like Sutton United and York City to get to
00:41this stage, so the pressure was on. And when the result came through, opinions were split.
00:51They were hoping for a match right here at the Beauville, but instead they'll be travelling
00:55to Birmingham. Many of the fans said they wanted Arsenal, they wanted Chelsea, maybe even
00:59a sneaky bit of Spurs, but it was not to be. And they'll be hoping to see if they can punch
01:03their ticket to the quarterfinals against the Blues. But what did the players and the
01:07manager make of their last 16 fixture?
01:09Yeah, like I said, people I've been speaking to, they're like, who do you want? And I was
01:13like, oh, I'd love Arsenal or something like that. But again, Birmingham's a big team. We'll
01:19definitely go there and try and give it a go. So yeah, we're happy with the draw.
01:21There was a few other choices we'd have preferred and we definitely would have preferred a home
01:26game for sure. But it's a top tier side and we knew we were going to get that in this round.
01:32And I'm aware of who's in the background of Birmingham. I know Hope Hale quite well. My
01:39wife played under her for England and I know the manager. So yeah, we'll look forward to it.
01:45We'll work towards it and we'll go up there and do our best.
01:47It feels good. I mean, I think mixed emotions when it first got read out. We wanted a big club,
01:52but I wanted Arsenal. We were so close to getting that ball drawn as well. But no, mixed feelings.
01:57I'm really sort of pumped to get to get Birmingham as well. I think I've got friends, close friends
02:02who plays there that I grew up with. So it'd be good to see her again. So yeah, I mean,
02:08it would have been nice to get a home draw as well. We obviously keep saying that after
02:11the attendance yesterday was incredible. We just want to build on that. So, but away it is.
02:16I'm sure our supporters will follow us.
02:17Yeah, I think the word that comes to mind first is just proud. Like I'm just so proud of like all
02:22the girls and all the staff. We've just done so well to get here. We've, you know,
02:27we've grafted a lot. So yeah, just so proud of everyone.
02:31No matter what, this cup run will go down in Kent's footballing legend
02:34as the giant killing Chats march to their next battlefield,
02:37the St Andrews Stadium in Birmingham. Finn McDermid for KMTV at the Beauville Stadium.
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