Bournemouth take on Exeter in the last game of the season with hopes of earning promotion

AFC Bournemouth Women will be playing their last game of the season away against Exeter City, who find themselves 3rd in the league, one position below The Cherries.

Bournemouth huddling before playing at the Vitality Stadium - Photo by Zach Sampson

The last time these two teams faced each other, it was a 1-1 draw with Kelly Fripp opening the score however Connie Pengelli – who is currently the league’s second top goal scorer – pulled one back late on to deny the Boscombe side their first win of the season.

Bournemouth’s win against Chesham, which was played at the Vitality Stadium, took them to just two points off Cheltenham Town, who find themselves top of the FA National League Division One South West.

Due to The Cherries having a greater goal difference than the league leaders, they will be hoping that they fail to beat Chesham, who The Cherries beat last weekend.

Abby Jones, who plays full-back, spoke about the small chance that they have of stealing top spot and the added pressure that can bring.

“There’s been a lot of pressure, not just for us but for Cheltenham as well. They know that they have to win their game to win the league so there’ll be a lot of pressure for them to do that but also if they lose or draw then we know we have to win so we’re also under a bit of pressure.

“For us we have to remember to enjoy the game; it’s our last game, we’ve had a good season and hopefully we can end it off with a good win.”

The Cherries debut season in the National League has been massively successful, with them going unbeaten in the league until they played Cheltenham in their 4th last game of the season.

They have also been formidable going forward with Becki Bath, Katie James and Lucy Cooper occupying third, seventh and eighth spot in the league’s scoring rankings.

Jones was brimming with pride when reflecting on Bournemouth’s season, saying: “It’s been an incredible season; we’ve never played at this level before and to step up and be in the top two teams at the end of the season is a great achievement, to be honest. I feel like we don’t always give ourselves enough recognition because we want to get promoted and that’s what we’ve been focusing on.

“Also, I think we need to highlight how we’ve come this season as well, not just the stadium game but as a whole how far we’ve come as a team and how we’ve developed as people”.

The Cherries will be travelling to Collompton Rangers hoping to cap off a brilliant season with a win and with the hope that they could be leaving as a team who will be debuting in the Southern Premier Division next season.