“It is like me coming up against Usain Bolt,” is how Chatham Town’s manager, Keith Boanas, compared the difference in speed and stamina between his fourth-tier underdogs and full-time professionals Birmingham City. The minnows kept themselves in this contest for far longer than 9.58 seconds, testing the second-tier side for just under an hour, before eventually the home side’s superiority told.
Given they are paid only their travel expenses, while their opponents are chasing promotion to the top tier, that was an admirable effort from the lowest-ranked side in the Women’s FA Cup fifth round. They were powerless, though, to stop Birmingham charging into the quarter-finals with a hat-trick from Océane Hurtré.
