After slipping to their first home League defeat of the season on Sunday as they lost to Norwich City Women, Chatham Town Women reached their third Cup Semi-Final of the season just 48 hours later with a crushing win over Margate Women in the last eight of the Combined Counties Cup. 

Goals at either end of the first half took the unbeaten home record on Sunday as Norwich City took advantage of too much room wide to centre for the opening goal of the game. Ote Charles did have the ball in the net, and the official seemed to award the goal only for the official to finally realise that one of her assistants had long been waving for offside! 

The game was stopped just before half time as a wayward clearance from a Norwich defender knocked a young supporter off her feet – fortunately the young lady was OK after some treatment from the Chats physio – but it seemed to knock the home side out of the rhythm that they’d got going and the visitors doubled the lead on the stroke of half time. 

A change of shape and personnel after the break, saw the home side carry much more of a threat although the visitors did think that they’d made it 3-0 when a shot from Freya Symonds hit the inside of the right post before going out past the left post with the Norwich player “celebrating” the “goal” already. 

Try as they might the home side couldn’t get the goal that would get them back into the game as subs Milly Raynor and Lucy Wells both went close – Raynor inches away from making an instant impact after coming on and Wells going close twice from corners – but in the end, it was the visitors who took the points leaving the Chats’ title dreams hanging by a thread. 

On Tuesday – just fifty hours after Sunday’s disappointment – the Chats travelled to Hartsdown Park, with the Margate boss Dave Woodgate having his twin daughters – Amelia and Maddy – in the Chats squad with a last four place up for grabs in the Combined Counties League Cup.  

And how Manager Woodgate would have regretted that his daughters weren’t in Margate blue as Amelia netted four times in the opening half – along with Raynor and an own goal – as the Chats raced into a healthy lead as they have done in many of their Cup fixtures this season.

Two more from Amelia followed after the break along with a hat-trick from Lottie Sharp, two from Charles and one from Grace Laverick which saw the Chats into the last four of their third Cup competition of the season. 

Defender Ellie Perkins was naturally disappointed after the Norwich defeat when we spoke with her this week, but the joy of another semi-final helped.

“Sunday was a frustrating afternoon,” Ellie admitted. “The frustrating thing is that it was a “decent” performance as we made more chances than we had done in some games this year. Possession and building up the pitch was better in some areas, but it was frustrating on the two goals we let in!” 

“Norwich were a decent side – we knew that from the game at their place – but even the draws we’ve had at the Bauvill haven’t been nice, but to lose… it is what it is, and we know that we should have been better on Sunday.” 

Sunday’s result leaves the Chats six points behind unbeaten leaders Real Bedford (who have a game in hand) with four games to play, as Chatham slip to fourth in the League table.

With hopes of the title and an automatic return to the National League South dwindling, Perkins admitted, “It’s not over till it’s over! I don’t know the maths, but we must keep pushing and take every game as it comes and see what happens!” 

“We are in two finals already and Tuesday was a test against the twins’ Dad’s team! Don’t think that I’ve ever known anything like that before or played in a game like that – we didn’t underestimate Margate at all, we couldn’t!”

“We know how good the twins are and with their dad in charge at Margate we knew that they were at a decent level – after all it was a Quarter Final – it was different territory and a side who we hadn’t played before!” 

“Since Christmas, it’s been bizarre as we had a good January – unbeaten in the month – but February has been more difficult stopping and starting.”

“Sometimes you do need the break and the rest, but there are times where it disrupts things as well! We’ve played some tough Cup games – Dartford for instance – and playing two games a week has been tough, and we have had to be fully focused on all the different Cup games which hopefully Tuesday highlighted we are.”

“Sometimes the rests help and sometimes they hinder but we know that we must give it our all every time we do out there!