For the players of fourth-tier team such as Leeds United women, drawing a top-flight club like Arsenal in the FA Cup generates quite a buzz.
Just ask Leeds striker Amy Woodruff.
When Leeds made it through to the fourth round, she tweeted her excitement at the prospect of being on the same pitch as the England captain: ‘I’m gonna play against Leah Williamson, I’ve already won no matter result.’
Leeds United striker Amy Woodruff in action – they will travel to Women’s Super League giants Arsenal in the fourth round of the Women’s FA Cup on Sunday
Woodruff, whose day job is in the fire service, cannot wait for the chance to face the Gunners
The Arsenal defender soon replied, asking if they could swap shirts.
‘I couldn’t believe I was going to be playing against Leah,’ says Woodruff. ‘I just wrote a tweet that night and then went to work the next morning and checked my phone and it had blown up, which I didn’t expect at all.
‘I never expected Leah to even see my tweet. When she put such a nice reply back I thought, it’s so good for all the people that saw that tweet, that she’s connecting to people like me who just love football. Obviously I’m a big fan of her.
‘I hope she remembers what she said about swapping shirts and finds me at the end of the game! It’s just such an opportunity and probably one that is the highlight of most of our careers playing against such a big team, full-time professionals and people who inspire us to play football.’
Woodruff, who works in the fire service, had to swap a shift to ensure she was available for Sunday’s game.
Arsenal star and England captain Leah Williamson saw Woodruff’s tweet ahead of the tie
Woodruff was so delighted just to be on the same pitch as England hero Williamson
Williamson then replied asking if they could swap shirts after the cup tie at Meadow Park
‘I love my job but it’s quite hard getting days off for games because obviously we have to work weekends. The weekend of the Arsenal game I was supposed to be on nights, Saturday and Sunday, but work was really good about it and sorted me out pretty quick.’
This kind of tie — 40 places separate the fourth division club from their Super League opponents — is understandably viewed as a ‘Cup final’.
However, this weekend’s fourth-round FA Cup fixture has actually been a final twice before — in 2006 and 2008.
Rick Passmoor was the man in charge of Leeds in 2008 and last summer he returned to the club with the long-term aim of taking them back to the big time.
‘It was a call out of the blue this summer,’ Passmoor tells Sportsmail. ‘It didn’t take long to know that it was a big project that we were starting at Ground Zero once more.’
Rick Passmoor returned to coach the Leeds United women’s team last summer
Leeds were beaten 4-1 in that 2008 final at the City Ground but had a promising young team that included the likes of future England captain Steph Houghton, Sue Smith and Carly Telford.
‘We got to the final, we drew virtually every equivalent Super League team in every round to get to there. The average age was 17 years and six months. It was a terrific experience for them.
‘I did say in the programme notes that these players would be the benchmark and backbone for the next decade of women’s football, which many have gone on to do. We progressed because in 2010, we got to the League Cup final and beat Everton.’
Leeds United’s relationship with women’s football has been hit and miss through the years, coming and going, supporting and not supporting.
Leeds were a prominent team in the women’s game at one point but are now rebuilding
They have never been in the Women’s Super League since its establishment in 2010 and have fallen down the pyramid. There is hope, though, that times are changing.
The women’s team were brought back under the men’s umbrella in 2017 and now train twice a week at the men’s base, Thorp Arch.
The facilities the players have access to are better than some WSL clubs and Passmoor is employed on a full-time basis.
They are not England internationals he is coaching now at Leeds. They are police officers, hospital workers and firefighters like Woodruff. But the passion for football is just as strong.
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There seems little chance of a Cup shock tomorrow. But, in time, could Arsenal vs Leeds be a regular fixture in the women’s calendar once more?
Woodruff (centre) and her team-mates prepare for Sunday’s cup tie against the Gunners
‘I mean that would be lovely, that would be fantastic. But we’re not there at the moment,’ says Passmoor.
‘We’re just at the start, we’re doing a lot of analysis, we’re looking at where we want to go, but there’s no time-frame.
‘It’s important we do it appropriately, we do it effectively and efficiently. We want to do it but we want to do it well.
‘There’s no pressure on us. I want to build a proper and positive structure for the women’s game and for Leeds United.
‘It is a different landscape but it’s a journey that excites, it’s a journey that we want to be on. There’s a lot of work ahead and these girls can be part of that journey.
‘I want them to embrace and enjoy the opportunity, enjoy the challenge so they can look back and talk about Arsenal vs Leeds in the FA Cup fourth round with pride for years to come.’