A journey that began in August, in Ivybridge, in the group stages of the FAWNL Cup, comes to a conclusion in London this Saturday.
Argyle Women play in the final of the FAWNL Cup, essentially the equivalent to the men’s Vertu Trophy, which will take place at the home of Queens Park Rangers, MATRADE Loftus Road.
Argyle cosily came through a group with Marine Academy Plymouth, Bridgwater United and Bristol Rovers, and then faced a litany of tough opponents from their own level.
The Pilgrims won at Watford, the side that lead the FAWNL Southern Premier Division, beat Oxford United and Lewes, two teams in the top half, and then won a spectacular semi-final against Burnley. Argyle beat the Clarets, who have lost just one other game this season – to Manchester United – 4-1, to secure a spot in the final.
In Saturday’s final, Argyle will face Bournemouth, a side with whom they are locked in a battle for the top two in the league, along with Watford. Curiously, Argyle and Bournemouth met last Sunday, with Marie Hourihan’s Greens ending Bournemouth’s unbeaten home record which stretched back over three years.
The victory came with a last-ditch Una Lue winner, which sent players, staff and fans into raptures, but Marie knows the importance of resetting for another clash with the Cherries. Earlier in the season, Argyle and Bournemouth drew 0-0 at Home Park, so in almost 200 minutes of football between the sides, they are separated by one, late goal.
“For me, it was always two very different games,” said Marie, comparing last weekend and next. “The league game last weekend, we knew for us it was a high-pressured game because for us to stay in the mix, stay in contention for that top two, we knew that three points was a must.
“As soon as that whistle was blown, it was about getting around the players, reminding ourselves we're playing the same opposition in a week. Number one, be humble and be respectful, but secondly, understanding that's a completely different game.
“I fully expect Bournemouth to come out. They're going to be going for this game. They're going to expect and want a better outcome, so their performance levels will be raised. We have to be prepared and ready for that.
“The previous two games have been extremely tight affairs. We saw it on Sunday. It was very much ebb and flow, one end to the other. I expect a similar game on Saturday. We need to make sure that we're better than we were at the weekend as well.”
This time last season, Hourihan was the head coach of Stoke City. The Potters knocked off Argyle in the semi-final, but lost to Nottingham Forest in the final. Now with Argyle, Marie has another chance, and is taking lessons from last season as she prepares her side for Saturday.
“You take a lot of learnings from those experiences,” Hourihane told Argyle TV. “For me, the approach for this week is very different to how I was last year. it was a first experience for me as a coach, getting to a final. If you asked me about last year, I probably wouldn't be able to tell you much about the week leading into it.
“Losing a final is hard. You've worked so hard to get there. The route that we've had to get here, we've played some phenomenal teams; very difficult, good teams.
“It’s different; whether it's the national anthem, you've obviously got a different venue, a bigger crowd and television cameras. It's just making sure that, for the players, there's nothing on the day that surprises them, that they feel comfortable, that their attention is purely on the game, that they've got no other distractions around that.
“If there is any trepidation or if there is any nervousness, they feel comfortable. We're confronting them now rather than arriving to the game on Saturday, all that emotion, that charged energy hitting them.
“I see it as a massive benefit. We're very comfortable playing in a stadium, being fortunate enough to play at Home Park every week. It won't be an enormity to the players walking out into that stadium, it'll be something that they're used to. And the surface supports how we want to play.
“For us, it's very much trying to use that to our advantage, to enable us to play how we want to play.
“For me, it's a celebration of a lot of hard work from a lot of people across the whole football club. It's an opportunity to celebrate the women's team, to be part of a showpiece event and also the first ever time to get to a final.
“It's certainly, from my perspective, a privilege to lead the team into that. We're just really excited now to get into the game, actually get down to Loftus Road, and play.”
Ticket information for the game is available here. The game will be shown live on BBC iPlayer, kick-off Saturday, 28 March, 3.30pm.
