XL Academy (H) - 21st January 2024

By David Hansen

Margate Women will be looking to take their league form into the Kent FA Plate 3rd round as they take on XL Academy at Hartsdown Park!

The two sides have had one previous encounter this season with XL Academy coming out on top after a 3-1 result in the SECWFL Premier Division at Hartsdown Park thanks to goals from Freya McKenzie and Gabriella Buddle-Smith.

Margate come into the game in excellent form with four straight wins, scoring 14 goals and only conceding twice in that time. The spell started with a midweek victory against Deal Town before back-to-back wins against Sittingbourne and most recently a 3-1 win against London Road.

XL Academy have only played 2 games since the turn of the year, with one win and one loss. They advanced to the semi-final of the SECWFL Chairman’s Cup with a routine 7-0 win against Aylesford 2nd's at Star Meadow Sports Club. Last week XL Academy picked up their first loss of the season in the league with a 1-0 defeat to Sevenoaks Town thanks to a goal from Lily Hewitt.

Previous Meetings:

Margate 4-6 XL Academy - SECWFL Premier Division - (04/09/22)

Goals: Nicole Adams x2, Shannon King x2

XL Academy 0-1 Margate - SECWFL Premier Division - (28/05/23)

Goals: Abbie Greetham x1

Margate 1-3 XL Academy - SECWFL Premier Division - (03/12/23)

Goals: Becca Slevin x1

Players to watch:

For XL Academy we’ve chosen the obvious threat and goal scoring ability of Gabriella Buddle-Smith. She has 22 goals in 13 starts meaning she is netting a goal every 53 minutes this season.

For Margate we have chosen Abbey Luby. Luby is one of Margate’s most consistent performers and is a real talent. With her blistering pace and the ability to pick out a pass, she is able to be involved in almost every attack and create plenty of goal scoring opportunities. Luby has also been able to find the net six times this season, only Becca Niblett and Paige Godden can better that tally.

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