Birmingham City Women Demolish Chatham 8-0 in Women's FA Cup Fifth Round
Birmingham City Women delivered a masterclass in professional football with a comprehensive 8-0 victory over amateur side Chatham Town in the Women's FA Cup fifth round. The match, held at Birmingham's home ground, saw the hosts advance to the quarter-finals in dominant fashion, highlighting the stark contrast between full-time professionals and part-time opponents.
Chatham's Valiant Resistance Crumbles Under Birmingham's Onslaught
For nearly an hour, Chatham Town managed to keep the scoreline respectable, trailing just 1-0 despite being the lowest-ranked team remaining in the competition. The visitors, who receive only travel expenses compared to Birmingham's professional squad chasing promotion to the Women's Super League, put up an admirable fight. However, they were ultimately powerless to prevent Birmingham from unleashing a second-half goal blitz.
Océane Hurtré emerged as the standout performer, completing a superb hat-trick with goals in the 26th, 59th, and 68th minutes. The French forward screamed in delight after her third goal, capturing the moment of triumph for the hosts. Birmingham's scoring was rounded out by Veatriki Sarri (53'), Batcheba Louis with a late brace (65', 89'), Lee Geum-min (70'), and record signing Wilma Leidhammar (76').
Goalkeeper Heroics and Growing Gulf in Women's Football
Chatham goalkeeper Simone Eligon, who represents Trinidad and Tobago internationally, produced an inspired performance to keep her team in contention during the first half. She made superb saves from Hurtré and Lee Geum-min early on, and even expertly tipped Sarri's strike onto the crossbar when Birmingham led 2-0. Despite her heroics, Birmingham's superior athleticism and fitness proved overwhelming as the match progressed.
The final scoreline demonstrated the significant gap between professional and amateur sides in the women's football pyramid. This result followed a similar pattern to Charlton's 10-0 victory over Swindon in the previous round, underscoring how the Women's FA Cup continues to await its first major shock since top women's teams turned professional.
Chatham's Historic Cup Run and Financial Windfall
Despite the heavy defeat, Chatham Town will take away £127,000 in prize money from their historic cup run, which began in the third qualifying round away at Beaconsfield. The amateur side eliminated two higher-league opponents—AFC Wimbledon and Exeter—both away from home, before making their first-ever appearance in the fifth round.
Chatham's travelling supporters appeared to make up most of the crowd at Birmingham's ground, outnumbering and outsinging the home fans. The club estimated they could have brought several hundred more than the approximately 200 who made the trip if the match hadn't clashed with a home fixture for their men's team.
Managerial Connections and Ruthless Execution
Chatham manager Keith Boanas, who won the Women's FA Cup as Charlton manager in 2005, prepared his team with a motivational montage of all 17 goals from their five victories to reach this stage. Boanas, awaiting treatment for a knee injury, shared a warm embrace before kick-off with Birmingham head coach Amy Merricks, who hails from Kent and began her coaching career at Gillingham—the club that rebranded as Chatham in 2023.
Merricks' personal connection to Chatham didn't stop her Birmingham side from being ruthless in their pursuit of goals. The hosts displayed clinical finishing throughout, with substitute Batcheba Louis particularly lively in adding two late goals to complete the rout.
The Women's FA Cup quarter-final draw will take place on Monday, following the completion of the remaining fifth-round ties. Sunday features six matches, including a Merseyside derby and a repeat of last season's final with Chelsea hosting Manchester United.
