Bridgwater buzzing for big Women’s FA Cup tie: ‘It puts club on the map’

Amy Goddard, a former Crystal Palace defender, helps run Bridgwater United’s commercial department. ‘There have been a few late nights trying to get everything sorted ready for the big game.’ Photograph: Jim Wileman/The Guardian

It is a chilly Tuesday evening at Fairfax Park, home to Bridgwater United, and in the modest main stand it is out with the old and in with the new. A volunteer, Richard Gudge, is replacing 150 red and black seats as preparations to play host to Manchester United in front of a record crowd continue.

The Women’s FA Cup shimmers on a plinth before camera crews and huddling children keen to take a closer look. These are snapshots that epitomise a community bursting with pride. “I’ve taken the week off work to be here to help,” says Gudge, a decorator whose daughter, Freya, plays for the under-21s.