Picture: The team congratulate Libby Wilkinson after scoring the opener against Woodley United. Credit: Gary Marsh.

Winchester City Flyers will aim to reach the Second Round of the Women's FA Cup for the first time in their history, but a difficult task lies ahead.

For the third season in a row, the Flyers have reached the First Round Proper and are now set on going further.

Standing in their way on Sunday is FA Women's National League side Keynsham Town, who currently sit 8th in Division One South West.

The K's head into the fixture five games unbeaten after a less than ideal start to the season.

In their last three outings, they beat league rivals Torquay United in the previous round of the FA Cup 2-1 thanks to a Mia Mugford brace.

Town followed this with a comeback against Gwalia United.

The Welsh side took a 2-0 lead in the first-half before Abi Todd reduced the deficit in the 64th minute.

Gwalia were reduced to 10 shortly after as goalkeeper Benedicte Haland was sent off, and Mugford took advantage to score the equaliser.

Most recently, they were victorious against local rivals Bristol Rovers in a 3-2 win that also saw Keynsham come from behind to win.

Rovers went 2-0 up within 33 minutes and looked to be cruising; however, Town hit back twice before the break.

Mugford and Vicky Vipond scored within two minutes of each other before the latter then gave them the lead shortly after half-time.

There was more drama as goalkeeper Lily Lewis was sent off after taking out a Bristol player, but Keynsham managed to hold onto a huge win and an important three points.

Captain Mugford has been their biggest threat in front of goal, scoring seven goals in nine appearances, while Sach Kaneko-Grun has netted five times in 10 appearances.

Winchester also come into the game in excellent form with six consecutive wins under their belt stretching back to 13th September.

In the previous round, the Flyers ran out 4-2 winners over Mangotsfield United of the South West Region Division One North.

The FA Cup win was followed up with league wins over Southampton Women (2-0) and Woodley United (5-1).

Winchester have scored an impressive 30 goals in seven games this season, averaging 4.3 goals per game.

There has been 11 different goal scorers but Chelsie Hay one again is leading the way with nine goals.

Charlie Snelling, Annie Northwood, Freya Twigg, and Libby Wilkinson all have multiple goals to their name, assisting Hay in the hunt for goals.

Captain Emma Whitlock has been the most influential, setting up goals with six assists to her name so far this season.

The attacking prowess is something Emma Pearmine will be hoping her side can emulate when they take on the higher opposition on Sunday.

Storm Boelo has been hitting the United Kingdom in recent days but should be taking a break, with sunshine forecast for the FA Cup clash, making it a perfect opportunity for supporters to get behind the Flyers.

MATCH INFORMATION

Venue: Charters Community Stadium, Winchester
Date: Sunday 24th October
Kick-off: 2:00pm
Gates open: 1:00pm
Competition: Southern Region Premier Division
Entry: Adult £6, Concessions £3, under-18s FREE
Parking: Limited free parking on-site at the ground on a first-come basis
Dogs are welcome but must be kept on a lead at all times
Refreshments: The clubhouse will be open to all spectators to purchase drinks.

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