Kentish Football 
There's no team on this planet that are unbeatable, says Gillingham boss James Marrs
The Gills warmed up to the last sixteen showdown at Boreham Wood’s Meadow Park in fine form after comfortably beating Charlton Athletic twice in the past week.
They extended their lead at the top of the FA Women’s Premier League Southern Division to five points (it stands at four tonight) after beating the Addicks 3-1 at Chatham Town’s Maidstone Road ground last Sunday.
And last night, Gillingham defeated Charlton Athletic’s plucky reserve side 3-0 to retain the Kent Women’s Cup at Maidstone United to win the silverware for a record fourth time.
Attention now turns to playing Super League giants Arsenal, who have won The FA Women’s Cup on 12 occasions, the last being last season when they defeated Bristol Academy 3-0.
“We’re buzzing, we’re so looking forward to it. It’s going to be really, really good,” said Marrs, 26.
“We’ve made our final selections last night on some performances last night so we’ve made our final selections with what we think is going to be good enough to go and compete and give the best account of ourselves as we possibly can. That’s our target.
“Hopefully we can nick a result. Who knows?”
If Gillingham knock out the might of Arsenal then it will go down as the biggest ever achievement from any Kent football team.
Marrs said: “As long as the girls go out and graft and work hard and stay disciplined, they’re beatable. They are beatable.
“There’s no team in this planet that are unbeatable. If they have a bad game and we play really, really well and work hard, there’s no reason why we can’t nick a result.
“The girls know that and we firmly believe that in management as well. We’re making sure that we’re getting that across to the players.”
Gillingham arrive at Boreham Wood on a run of six wins on the bonce and are relishing the chance of playing Arsenal in a competitive fixture.
“It’s a big one to say the least,” said assistant manager Jack Wheeler.
“As soon as the FA Cup got drawn, we got drawn away to Arsenal at Boreham Wood, the phone was ringing. The girls starting going crazy. It’s something that the girls are really looking forward to but as management we’re making sure they keep their feet on the ground.
“They’re here to do a job so we make sure they go out and have fun. The pressure is not on the girls, there’s no pressure from us.
“We’ve told them just go out and enjoy themselves, soak up the occasion, make sure you do yourselves credit, especially against England internationals, against World Cup winners, against other people.
“For some of our girls they will probably never get this opportunity again to play against a team like Arsenal and the way that they are.”
There will be lots of support from Kent on Sunday, who will make the trip to Conference South Boreham Wood to watch Gillingham lock horns with a giant of English football.
The pitch at Meadow Park will certainly suit Gillingham’s excellent passing game.
“It’s something that the girls will relish,” said Wheeler.
“Listen we’re there, we’ve earned the right to play on the pitch (against Arsenal), so we’re not going to let them play around us. We’re there to do a job so we need to be game on, turn up and focus and everything needs to be tip top and you never know there might possibly be an upset. You can never cancel it out.
“It’s going to be a great occasion and it’s something for Kent to thrive upon really. They need to seize upon it.
“It’s not so much as the jewel in the crown, but something that the players have deserved. They’ve deserved the right to play in that tie with all the games that we’ve played. They deserve to be top of the league because of the way that they train and they apply themselves. It’s very, very professional.”
Wheeler, like the rest of us, would love to see Kent’s best women’s football team pull off the greatest ever giant-killing act in Kent footballing history.
“If we do manage to pull it off, it will probably be one of the biggest shocks and turn ups in Kent football for a very, very long time,” said Wheeler.
“If we manage to turn up and play against ex-England captains and World Cup winners from across the world, not just England and manage to go out there and produce the goods…
“We just want the girls to play the way that we want them to play. We’ve got our own plans and our own targets but we’re not turning up there to make up the numbers. We’re there to go and perform and give these girls what they deserve because they deserve to be out there to play Arsenal.
“Arsenal have got an abundance of quality in their team of youth and ex internationals and internationals that are still playing that are off to play in World Cups.
“For some of our girls that’s a whole different world. They’ve never been involved in something like that so to actually apply yourself to play against someone like that would be very motivating. It will be motivating for the girls to go out there and give yourselves credit because they’re in great shape, they’re a great team and they have to make sure they apply themselves in the right way.”
Arsenal Ladies manager Shelley Kerr insists the reigning champions have left no stone unturned in their preparation against The Gills.
She said in an interview to www.thefa.com: "We know that Gillingham are top of their respective league at this moment in time, they are well into their season and they will be a tough opponent.
"I think they won on Sunday against Charlton and they won their previous ties against Preston and Nottingham Forest, so we know a little bit about them.
"We have also had them watched so we won’t take the game lightly, that’s for sure."
Kerr is hoping to dominate proceedings in front of their home crowd.
Kerr added: "It’s going to be really tough. We are looking forward to playing at home obviously – playing at Boreham Wood, in familiar surroundings.
"The FA Cup is a fantastic competition, it is one that obviously we have won on numerous occasions and we are really looking forward to the game on Sunday.
"We will try and give our supporters, who have been fantastic over the Champions League games, something to smile about."
Arsenal quotes courtesy of http://www.thefa.com/news/competitions/fa-womens-cup/2014/apr/fifth-round-arsenal-gillingham-shelley-kerr#bu0QU3MxqMPj1Tdf.99
Arsenal v Gillingham
The FA Women’s Cup Fifth Round
Sunday 13th April 2014
Kick Off 2:07pm
at Meadow Park, Broughinge Road, Boreham Wood, Hertfordshire, WD6 5AL
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