Wolves’ Adobe Women’s FA Cup fifth round tie against Manchester United is to be held at the team’s regular home ground, SEAH Stadium.
Dan McNamara’s side overcame Cheltenham Town in the fourth round on Sunday to set up a mouth-watering fixture with the current FA Cup holders during the weekend of 8th February.
Following the draw, which was held on Monday evening, discussions were held between staff and players as to whether the game should be played at the team’s usual home in Telford or move it to Molineux, but the consensus around the group has been that the game should be played at SEAH Stadium.
McNamara believes the decision for the tie to remain in Telford will ensure his players can stay close to their usual routines as they look for any advantage possible when facing one of the best women’s teams in the country.
“My big message to the fans, to the players and to everyone involved in the game is that this is a game of football in which we want to be competitive. We want the girls to feel comfortable in where they are, and we also play well at Telford – that's where we get results – because this is not a game we're taking lightly.
“We’re not just inviting Man United to the SEAH Stadium and giving them a free pass to the next round, we want to perform to our best and give the competition our all, but we also want to use everything in our power to try and make sure the game is really competitive.”
Having reached the fifth round for the second season in a row, and as one of just two tier three sides guaranteed to be playing in the next stage of the competition this season, McNamara understands the challenge facing his side.
But by hosting the game in Telford, the manager hopes the Wolves fans will pack out the stadium, helping to create an atmosphere which will push his players on to achieve victory – and a result which would go down as the greatest in the team’s history.
“Everybody knows that it’s a huge uphill task,” McNamara explained. “We're talking about senior England internationals that are going to be gracing the turf at Telford, but it's the small one per cents which can make a difference.
“We've seen how we performed against West Ham there two years ago, we've seen how we performed against Brighton last year, and we want to do it again.
“It's what the players wanted and it's what the staff wanted, because we want to be as well prepared as you can be when you've got Man United coming to town. We've got a couple of games at Telford before we play Man United and it's our dressing room, it's our stadium.
“If you have three to four thousand people at Telford, it will be a right, lively little ground. You saw it at Tamworth last weekend in the men’s FA Cup with Tottenham Hotspur, and it can be quite daunting for the opposition. Whereas if we played the game at Molineux, we’re not expecting to sell anywhere near the 30,000, so you're going to end up with empty stands.
“I understand the draw to play it there, and Molineux certainly feels like home when we do play there for our showpiece games like West Brom in March, but the girls are so used to the pitch at Telford and they know the dressing rooms so well.
“Although it’s a huge game against prestigious opposition, if we can keep as close to our usual routines as possible, hopefully the better they'll perform and we will go out there and give a good account of ourselves.”
Full details of the fifth round tie, including dates and ticket information, will be confirmed in due course.
