Football / Bristol Rovers Women
Rovers ready for biggest match in club’s history
Currently playing in the fourth tier of the women’s football pyramid and only a club for less than six years, Bristol Rovers will make history on Sunday when they travel to Aston Villa in the FA Cup.
The Gas Girls are the lowest ranking team still left in the famous competition, while Villa are a fully-professional Women’s Super League side.
Former Bristol City striker Shaun Goater is currently caretaker manager of Villa, who sit seventh in the WSL table with nine points from ten games.
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Sunday’s fourth-round match is taking place at Walsall’s Bescot Stadium, with the Gas Girls looking to cause an upset against a squad packed with internationals.
“It’s something special and it’s really living up to the magic of the FA Cup,” Rovers manager Nathan Hallett-Young told Bristol24/7.
Meg Jarvis and Laura Barrett celebrate Bristol Rovers’ win against Oxford United in the FA Cup third round – photo: Eddie Keogh / The FA / Getty Images
With eight goals in the FA Cup so far this season, Meg Jarvis is in third place on the competition’s list of top scorers.
The centre-forward, named by Bristol24/7 as one of our sportspeople of 2024, said she feels “very excited” going into Sunday.
“It will be one of the biggest games of my career,” said Jarvis, who has previously played for clubs including Bristol City and Swindon Town.
“Some of us have grew up watching some of Aston Villas stars, so it’s a massive moment for me and my family.
“For myself and the club, the cup run is massive. It is a great opportunity to prove what we can achieve and how far we have come…
“It’s a great opportunity for young talents to be recognised and get a memory which will last a lifetime.”
Jarvis, who works as a personal trainer away from the football field, added: “On Sunday, I want us to flourish and play well individually and as a team, to prove to higher leagues and higher opposition that lower leagues are capable and how hard we work.
“I want the fans who are travelling to also enjoy it and see a really competitive game.
“As this is the biggest game of the club’s career and the fans have been great, they deserve to watch a good performance and enjoy the moment as much as we do.”
Poppy Warren was on the receiving end of a strong tackle by Abingdon United’s Mimi Hodges – photo: Rachel Le Poidevin
Poppy Warren was in the Gas Girls’ debut squad in 2019 and is now the club’s longest-serving player.
“Pre-match nerves are building but it’s mainly excitement,” Warren told Bristol24/7.
“This is definitely the biggest moment in my career so far and I’m enjoying every minute.
“It’s an incredible opportunity for us to showcase what we’re about. Everybody has worked incredibly hard to get us to this point and Sunday for us is just about enjoying the experience and putting our best performances out there.
“We’re really proud of ourselves to get to the point where we’re sharing the stage with some world class players…
“I remember my first game for Rovers about six years ago in a muddy community park with absolutely no inkling that this is where we would be today.
“To get this far in the competition is testimony to the dedication and effort of all the players and staff.
“We’ve pulled out performance after performance showing we can compete with higher ranked teams…
“The hype around this game has only heightened excitement for the weekend but our game day prep will be as normal as possible…
“This is a great platform to promote women’s football and we want to put a show on for the fans. We want to come off that pitch having given 100 per cent and held our own against some top opposition.
“As the lowest ranked club left in the competition, we feel very proud of what we have achieved to get here and hopefully this match can help to inspire some young new ballers.”
Nathan Hallett-Young has been Gas Girls manager since the club was reformed as an initiative of the Bristol Rovers Community Trust – photo: Eddie Keogh / The FA via Getty Images
Like defender Warren, Gas Girls manager Nathan Hallett-Young has been with Rovers since the club was reformed in 2019.
Hallett-Young said that his team have been “growing in confidence across the week. We’ve done some really good work and hopefully we can put in a really good performance.”
He said: “Naturally, I think there is a mixture between excitement and nerves. It’s going to be a tough game for us and a challenging one…
“I don’t think it’s going to be an easy task but it’s a level of excitement and some positive nerves, ones that show we’re caring and that way, we’re ready for what we want to do.”
This cup run for Hallett-Young shows that his team is capable of competing at high levels.
“That’s the main thing,” he said. “Normally I’m a stickler for a cup run, the league is your bread and butter and that’s all I really want to focus on, making sure that we go and achieve as best as we can in the league.
“There’s now good prize money in the FA Cup but it’s more than that; it’s the feeling of this build-up that is different.
“We’ve not had it before and it’s really exciting knowing we can challenge ourselves against WSL opponents.
“We’ve had a running theme of consolidation across this season but now we can go and compete. Why not? We’re capable of doing that in the league but now we can also do that in the FA Cup.
“We’re playing against a side that may field a load of international players. Can we challenge them? Can we make a name for ourselves? That’s what we need to do….
“It’s something special and it’s really living up to the magic of the FA Cup. We’re going to relish the challenge and see what we can get out of it.”
Emily Bayliss celebrates scoring a last-minute winner against Abingdon United on January 5 – photo: Mads Taylor
Main photo: Eddie Keogh / The FA / Getty Images
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