WITH Cherries Women set to play their first competitive match at Vitality Stadium on Sunday, head coach Steve Cuss looked back on how far the team has come.

Sunday’s game against Chesham (2pm) is not only a big day for the team in terms of playing at Vitality Stadium, but it is also a crucial game in the FA Women’s National League as Cherries chase down Cheltenham for promotion into the third tier of the women’s game.

Cuss was speaking in his pre-match press conference, the seat normally occupied by first team boss Scott Parker, and remembered where it all started on local park pitches.

“Obviously you let your mind drift away a couple of times,” explained the Cherries boss.

“Where you have seen the team play, and no disrespect to some of the venues that we have taken the team to, there were some council pitches in the early days when we were playing in the county leagues with multiple pitches and multiple games going on.

“So to actually play at the Vitality Stadium on Sunday - I will probably take a little minute just to reflect on that at some point during the afternoon.”

The game comes after the recent 3-0 defeat to Portsmouth in the Hampshire Cup final and despite the loss, Cuss knows his team is strong enough and good enough to bounce back against Chesham.

Cuss continued: “The players are really resilient.

“They know where they are; they are a developing team.

“We challenge ourselves against the better opposition in the cup competitions and that was the case at the cup final (against Portsmouth) last Wednesday.

“There were parts of the game where I thought we were really good and competing with them and crucially they got the first goal and we were trying to get back into the game and against the better sides you get picked off a little bit.

“There were plenty of positives from the cup final so I haven't had to pick the players up too much.

“We didn't have a game at the weekend but we trained.

“They all came in - full squad - all training well and I think we are ready for this game coming up this weekend.”

Cuss’s side ran out 2-0 winners the last time the two sides faced each other and clean sheets have become a common trait to the team's success this season. With 15 clean sheets and just one defeat in the league, a recent 2-1 loss to leaders Cheltenham, Cuss admitted Chesham’s strong attacking line-up - which boasts league top scorer Gemma Fraser - will be difficult to contain.

He added: “It was a really tough game last time.

“They have some forwards who can score goals and really are a good threat going forward. It was a tight game before, crucially, like I said in the cup final, we got the first goal and that allowed us to open and play a little bit and be cautious when we needed to be on the defensive side of it and got the second goal quite late on.”

The game kicks-off at 2pm on Sunday, April 10 and to get your ticket call 01202 726300 or email tickets@afcb.co.uk