Impetus has sponsored Ashford Town (Middx) hotshot Ashley Cheatley for several seasons now. She recently spoke to Ben Gilby about the club’s first season in the FA Women’s National League, close season changes at the club, and aims for next season (12/7/23).
Above: Impetus sponsored Ashley Cheatley. Photo supplied to Impetus by: Ashley Cheatley.
Ashley Cheatley has been a key part of the Ashford Town (Middx) squad that has risen rapidly up the leagues, scoring a hat full of goals along the way. This rise culminated in their first-ever campaign in the FA Women’s National League (FAWNL) for 2022/23.
Looking back at that first campaign in tier four, Cheatley said: “The biggest positives from the season was being able to retain our position in the league, we finished around mid-table and were able to compete among other clubs which is always a challenge for anyone being promoted into a new league. Our biggest challenge I’d say is where we have been so used to winning in our club’s history, we had to adapt that when results don’t go our way, how we as a team bounce back and kick on for the next game.
“To be fair, the league below was a challenge and we had to work hard to finish top and achieve the way we did. The football, fitness, and professionalism in the FAWNL is a step up, with teams already having the experience and knowledge of other opponents we had to adapt quickly.”
The FAWNL Division One South-East is a notoriously tough league, not helped by the fact that there is only one promotion spot available, and for the striker, it’s a league full of quality.
“I think it’s a very high standard, you have a lot of players who have had experience in higher divisions and have clubs that have the set-up to go on and improve, it is a highly competitive league, and to have one promotion spot makes the league even more competitive.”
Ashford’s success in comfortably retaining their tier four status was tinged by the departure of head coach and chairman Will Boye, who founded the club and was a major influence on Cheatley. She reflected on how the news of his departure hit the team.
“Will had worked hard and put a lot of his time and effort into Ashford and we will always be appreciative of that. I’ve known Will since I signed for Brentford in 2013 and he’s always been supportive of me and believed in me to be the player I set out to be.
“When it was announced I think the players were shocked, we had to kick on without him for the first time in the club’s history, but to be fair, the players and coaches came together to make it work, and quickly. It showed a lot of character.”
The close season has seen the announcement of a formal partnership between the club’s men’s and women’s teams for the first time, as well as the appointment of Adam Frailing as head coach. The striker believes that both developments can only help the club continue to blossom.
“It’s been quite a busy transition for our coaches, Adam, and the club in general, preparing for everything we need so we can be successful and grow. With Adam now being our manager, he knows the girls and how good players are, he’s demanding in what he expects of us and will drive us to work hard to see results.
“Adam has a plan and knows what he wants from us so we can achieve, we know we have to work even harder than we did last season to make it happen and with new recruitment within our structure, it will allow us to be able to do that.”
With the club establishing themselves in a league that has a number of women’s teams from EFL men’s clubs in it, Cheatley is clear what the Tangerines need to do to continue their upward trajectory.
“Ashford need to make sure to keep on top with investing into women’s football. Its been evident especially last season with teams not being able to sustain their place in the league due to the lack of support (Wymondham Town and Hounslow withdrew from the FAWNL Division One SE during 2022/23) and those who do have the support excelling in the league. It’s important we keep our club expectations the same from staff down to players and have people amongst us who support and want to drive us to the next level.”
The striker has already set herself some targets for the new season. “Personally, I need to score more goals than I did last season, it just simply was not enough and I know I can do a lot better, but you want to improve and hit the next level that I can.
“For the club, I think if we work hard from the off and give 100% on the pitch, we can push on and finish a lot stronger in both the league and cup competitions, we’re a team who want to win and achieve things at the highest standard, so we’d like to finish with a trophy, or two…”
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