Argyle Women return to action in 2026 with an important Home Park outing on Saturday, 3 January, against Watford.
Argyle are currently the leading side of the two, sitting one point ahead of the Golden Girls in second place, but both trail league leaders AFC Bournemouth. This season, however, more is riding on a finishing second than in years past.
The second-place side, at the end of the season, will claim a play-off final spot and come up against the equivalent finisher from the FAWNL Northern Premier Division, with the winner securing promotion to the Women’s Super League 2.
Watford are a familiar team to Argyle this season; The Greens have played them twice, both on the road, but with different outcomes. In the league, Watford picked up a 2-0 victory, but an FAWNL Cup tie ended in a much better way for Marie Hourihan’s side.
An Olivia Francis brace and Tianna Teisar strike secured the Greens’ spot in the next round of the competition and sparked a superb run of form, which has seen just one defeat, against Oxford United in the Adobe FA Cup, since the second game of the season.
Head Coach Hourihan and her side had a deserved, short break over Christmas, and she believes Argyle in an excellent place to face the Hertfordshire side in front of the Green Army on Saturday, at 3pm.
“After the Real Beford game on Sunday, 21 December, we all had a few days off to enjoy Christmas and Boxing Day, but got back in on the 27th to have a week of training leading into this fixture against Watford,” she told Argyle TV. “We are delighted to be at home first going back after Christmas. The result against Bedford meant that we jumped into the top two, which has now put a nice little edge on the game.
“We're in a good place. Everybody has come back fit and well. We've had a good week together and are ready to hit the ground running in 2026.
“It was probably the right time for everyone to have those few days off. The importance for me was to keep the consistency of our training routine, which we've been able to do. It’s also important that we come into this game with a bit of rhythm, because sometimes if you do have a break, that's something that can creep in, so having the way that we've planned, the training week has been really good.
“I think the players have come back and they look refreshed, but we are in a place now where we've had a good time together to develop that consistency again.
“Watford were a Championship side two years ago. They've got some really established players that have been together a long time and are a really good footballing team. They'll fully expect to be in that top two come the end of the season, so my expectations are that Watford don't change, irrelevant of the results that they've had leading into this game, and our preparation hasn't changed on that front.
“We know it will be a very good game. It'll be a tough game. They’ve got some very good players on the top line that have scored a lot of goals. There are things that we need to consider in terms of how we prepare, but as I said, we've put ourselves in a position now where we can go and really compete, and that's what I fully expect us to do on Saturday.
“We've got 10 league games remaining. All we can do is focus on each game individually and prepare as best as we possibly can so that players feel comfortable and confident going into the game with a clear plan. We’ve put ourselves in a really good position, but that's only been done through the consistency of hard work every week.
“Players do perform to the levels that they can perform, but for me, that’s all that we can focus on, and what happens beyond that after this weekend, we'll cross that bridge when it comes.
“As the season has progressed, the support from the Green Army has gained momentum. This is a high-profile game with Watford being in the mix with us in the league table. It is going to be a good game of football, and the home support that we've had up to this point has served us really well. It's really benefited the players.
“The players love it and enjoy playing in front of the supporters, and I just encourage as many of you, if you are available to come down on Saturday, come and watch a really good footballing game.”
