AFC Wimbledon Ladies : Walton Casuals Ladies FC

On this sunny Sunday, a premiere was to take place at Wimbledon. The AFC Wimbledon Ladies were allowed to play their first home match in the new stadium at Plough Lane - currently called The Cherry Red Records Stadium after a sponsor. The stadium was first opened at the end of 2020 and is the new stadium of the Dons, who currently play in League 1. Now it was also time for the ladies to make their debut in their new home. And what could be better for such an event than a match in the prestigious FA Cup. The opponents were Walton Casuals Ladies FC, who play a little lower than Wimbledon but have been working their way up from virtually nowhere in recent years.

The stadium is easy to reach by underground, and after a short walk you are already standing in front of the stadium. The stadium has been integrated into the entire building complex and thus offers a unique but great ambience. The stadium has room for almost 9,000 spectators and offers football fans everything their hearts desire. Especially since we were allowed to take our beer to the seats during this match ;-)

Since we have never visited a women's football match in the course of our ground hopping activities, it was also a premiere for us. We were also quite surprised that 1,405 spectators turned up for this match, which created a good atmosphere and gave the whole event an even more dignified ambience. The players on both sides seemed to enjoy it from the start.

Shortly after kick-off, Kelly Highman gave the home side the lead. After that, Wimbledon kept up the tempo and created chance after chance. In this phase, the goalkeeper of Walton Casuals stood out. Nevertheless Rebecca Carter and Ashlee Hicks ensured a comfortable 3:0 lead. But who thought that the Casuals would surrender to their fate so easily, they were wrong. Through good combination play they were able to create some good chances. Especially the crosses and corners of Jodie Barker were always dangerous. And finally Brooke Garcia made use of one of these chances to score the deserved equaliser.

After the break nothing changed. Wimbledon pressed and quickly took a 5:1 lead through Megan Stow and Rebecca Carter to make things clear. The opponents still played bravely forward, but nothing worthwhile came of it in the end. The final goal was scored by Ashlee Hicks with two more goals, which secured her a hat-trick. In the end, a deserved 7-1 win in an entertaining game with good scenes on both sides.

The players from both teams were rightly celebrating after the final whistle and you could tell that they had enjoyed playing in front of the big crowd and the big stadium. I'm sure the ladies of AFC Wimbledon will be playing in this stadium more often in the future. They deserve it.

After the game, they walked back to Wimbledon Park Station, where they stopped at the nice The Woodman Pub before heading back to central London.