Chatham 'ready for promotion' after FA Cup defeat

Birmingham City's manager has described Chatham as a side "ready for promotion" after the Kent team's Women's FA Cup run ended with defeat.

Fourth-tier Chatham were the lowest ranked side left in the last 16 as they travelled to second-tier Birmingham but the gulf was too great and they lost 8-0.

Birmingham manager Amy Merricks said Chatham deserved credit for reaching this stage of the competition, adding: "They put in a really hearty performance and it's not easy. We're a fully-fledged professional side. We train every day, they do not."

Chatham's manager Keith Boanas admitted his squad could not compete with Birmingham "on three hours a week", referring to their training time.

In January, Boanas, who previously won with Charlton in 2005, said getting to the fifth round felt "as good as it did when I won it" 20 years ago.

An Instagram post by the FA Women's National League and Chatham Town described it as "the end of a brilliant run".

Merricks, who is from Kent and has played alongside some Chatham players, added: "I'm really pleased that with the prize money they get from the FA Cup, it allows them to sustain their future and get what they need to really push on into the next league."

She played for Gillingham alongside Chatham player Amy Russ, who played on Saturday and works as a PE teacher at Rainham School for Girls.

Gillingham later pulled funding for the women's team, citing financial difficulties due to Covid, and it moved to Chatham in 2022.

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