Dale Women are in cup competition once again this afternoon as they take on Atherton Laburnum Rovers Ladies in the quarter-final of the Greater Manchester League Challenge Cup.
Lee Atkinson’s side exited the Lancashire County Cup last Sunday, as they were beaten by Wigan Athletic, exiting the competition at the quarter-final stages.
They also reached the quarter-finals of the Manchester FA Women’s Challenge Cup this season, where they met Bury. The Shakers won that tie 4-1.
The Dale Women are due to face Atherton again in the semi-finals of the League Premier Cup after beating Athletico Middleton Ladies 2-1 in the quarter-final, so this will be a good opportunity for both sides to see how each other plays.
AFC Darwen knocked Dale out of the FA Cup in the second round earlier this season. This was after a well-attended first-round win against MSB Woolton Women at the Crown Oil Arena in September.
Dale have beaten East Leigh Juniors Ladies 21-0 and Colne FC Ladies 3-1 to reach this point in this afternoon's competition.
In their first season, Dale have already reached three quarter-finals and a semi-final, with potentially a second semi-final on the way if Lee Atkinson’s side can progress through today's game.
“It’s another cup and another quarter-final for us,” said the Dale Women’s Manager.
“We’re once again facing another tough outfit, this time our opponents being Atherton.
“The players are actually training really well at the minute, but in recent weeks, we have just struggled to put the way we train into our games.
“We’re hoping that we get a big reaction this week following last Sunday’s game and start hitting those levels that we know we can hit.
“We know that we have an incredible squad. We just need to start showing what we can do on matchdays.
“I know that Sunday [today] will be tough, and we will massively need the support again from our amazing fans.
“We really do want some new supporters too. So if anyone is free, get down to Kingsway and get behind the Dale Women’s team!”
This afternoon's quarter-final has been moved to Kingsway Park High School on the 3G pitch [Turf Hill Road, Rochdale OL16 4XA], with kick-off also being pushed back to 2.30pm.