Bridgwater buzzing for big Women’s FA Cup tie: ‘It puts club on the map’

It is a chilly Tuesday evening at Fairfax Park, home to Bridgwater United, and in the modest main stand it is out with the old and in with the new. A volunteer, Richard Gudge, is replacing 150 red and black seats as preparations to play host to Manchester United in front of a record crowd continue.

The Women’s FA Cup shimmers on a plinth before camera crews and huddling children keen to take a closer look. These are snapshots that epitomise a community bursting with pride. “I’ve taken the week off work to be here to help,” says Gudge, a decorator whose daughter, Freya, plays for the under-21s.

On Sunday, when Bridgwater welcome the Women’s Super League side to Somerset in the fourth round, Gudge will be selling hats, scarves and programmes in the club shop. It is impossible to escape the sense that a significant occasion is on the horizon.

There is a tangible buzz, nervous energy flowing through everybody from the coaching staff to the squad, who are midway through a double training session, and the caterers, who have ordered a quarter of a tonne of chips to feed a capacity crowd of 2,500. Among the fans will likely be Grace Best, sister of the Manchester United legend George, who is related to a player on the fringe of the first team.

The club’s previous record attendance was 1,112, for a men’s derby against Taunton Town in 1997. Sunday’s tickets for the main stand sold out in 10 minutes. In contrast to the men’s competition, home teams keep 100% of gate receipts.

Such is the level of interest the chairman, Bob Buckingham, believes they could have sold another 1,000 but, unlike when they entertained Milton Keynes Dons this month in front of a crowd of 146, there will be no room for walk-ups.

“It is great to hear the