Penn & Tylers Green Ladies Historic FA Cup Appearance

A Run to Remember: Penn & Tylers Green Ladies Compete In The FA Cup For The First Time In Their History!

By Darcie Panayiotou

This Autumn, Penn & Tylers Green Ladies made club history with their three-round run in the Women’s FA Cup qualifying stage.

Penn Ladies have been on a major journey over the past couple of years, advancing in their performances and results, with promotions and wins boosting club morale.

With the club’s promotion to the Southern League, Division One North, Penn became eligible for the FA Cup, with manager Nigel Miller believing that “playing in the FA Cup felt like the natural next progression” as an endeavour of the teams “commitment and effort”.

With the initial advancement due to an abandoned match, Penn put on a performance full of passion with a 1-0 victory against Watford Ladies Development squad, to send them through to the third round of qualifying.

The away bout in Watford was an intense 90 minutes for the Ladies, as both sides rivalled for the advantage and spot in the next stage of qualifying. With near misses from each team, an incredible 80th minute winner from Henna Hussain was all that Penn needed to secure the win.

The play leading up to the winning goal, and the celebrations which followed were nothing short of pure intensity and devotion to the team. The emotion displayed by the team in these vital moments was a small glimpse into the dedication and effort put in, with the roar of fan support from the crowd showing just what this win meant to those who take pride in the club.

Nigel Miller, commented on the journey of the team and how much it meant to them. When asked about the win against Watford, he expressed the emotion experienced; “To win our first game was just amazing.

“What I get a lot of pride about, was if you saw the reaction of the girls when they scored. They turned around and came running to the bench, because we are a team together – the coaching team as well as the players. So yeah, proud.”

One of Penn's strongest attributes, is their pride. Miller highlighted the importance of pride in his team's performances stating; “I think when most teams play us, they are not used to the level of work we put into a game. We might lack a little bit of skill at times, which we’re working on, but our endeavour pushes us to a new level.

“The first game was probably the perfect game, we scored so late, and it was such a good goal, and everyone was so happy. It really gave the club a buzz.”

Despite the strong start and display by the Ladies, their run was put to an end up Chesham United Ladies with a 5-0 defeat away from home.

Though Penn may have been eliminated from the qualifying round, Miller praised his squad for their overall performances; “Disappointed to go out, but so proud to have won and got through to as high as we did this year.”

The advances of women's football over the past decade has been immense, with the growth of competitions, clubs, and experiences open to women and girls opening a new door of opportunities. Penn captain, Rachael Harnby, commented on the experience of leading her team through the qualifying rounds, and what it meant to her. She stated; "Win or lose, we enjoyed every moment of being in the FA Cup.

"We have learned a great deal and will continue to grow as a team to achieve great things. I would love to tell my younger self, that had to play with the boy's team because women's football didn't really exist then, that we got to play in the FA Cup, I think she would be really proud."

Miller claims that the club’s appearance in the Cup has “Created hunger, they’ve seen it now and this is where they want to play – they want to play against those sorts of players.

“We’re on a journey, and we’ve come from where we started, and we’re part-way onto that journey. We’re learning.”

Penn are planning on re-entering into the FA Cup next season, with a bid to climb further in the competition as their team continues to grow and develop.

Until then, the Ladies’ performances throughout their run will go down in history as they put the club’s name into the FA Cup for the first time ever.

Listen below to hear what Nigel Miller had to say on his team's FA Cup run!