Nikki Woods previews Brentford Women v Sport London E Benfica | OneFootball

Nikki Woods says Brentford Women are excited for the “test” of challenging themselves against a higher-ranked opponent on Sunday afternoon.

The Bees welcome former league rivals Sport London E Benfica to Bedfont Sports Club on Sunday (3pm kick-off) for FA Cup third-round qualifying action, with the winner progressing to the first-round proper.

Sport London sit one step above Karleigh Osborne’s side following their promotion from London South East Division One North last season - a league the Bees are eyeing promotion to next season.

“Obviously, in the league, we have a good string of wins at the moment, so everyone’s feeling really good,” said Woods.

“It’s that test and we’re hopeful for promotion so it’ll be a good way of comparing us to the other leagues to see where we’re at and I think it’ll be a really good game.”

Woods has good memories of this stage of the FA Cup, having scored a brace against Watford Ladies Development last season to send Brentford to the first-round proper for the first time in club history.

“That was kind of the turning point for me last season; that game was where we all found our momentum and that helped us. It was an enjoyable game and good to get on the scoresheet,” explained Woods.

“It’s just another game for us. The FA Cup was exciting last season and I hope we’re going to continue on a similar run, if not better, this time.

“No matter the opponent, we’re all going to go into it with the same mindset.”

While the coaches and players are excited to try and go further in the competition this time around, Woods knows what it would mean to the fans.

“It was great to get as far as we did last season and the crowd backing us; you could hear how excited they were for us to get that far as well,” she said.

“It’ll be a huge, proud moment for us to do it as a team but also for the fans as well - I think they’d really appreciate us going one step further.”

Last time out

The Bees cruised to a 7-0 win over Clapton Community last time out, as 3,585 fans headed to Gtech Community Stadium for the side’s third game there in as many seasons.

Ashley Cheatley scored a debut hat-trick at the west London stadium, while Chloe Logie added two of her own, and Woods and Samantha Read scored one each.

Brentford last faced Sport London in April, with the sides battling out a 0-0 draw. The result secured a league title and subsequent promotion for Sport London, ending the Bees’ promotion dreams in the process.

About Sport London E Benfica

Sport London have jumped to the London South East Premier Division this season, entering Sunday’s clash with two wins, a draw and three losses to their name in the league.

The side opened their campaign with a 2-2 record and a dominant 8-0 win over Haywards Heath Town. However, they have drawn and lost their last two games, respectively, to sit eighth in the table.

The team won their third-round qualifying game 7-0 against Tunbridge Wells Foresters. Kimberly Castro scored twice in the game, helping her to a team-best 10 goals on the season to date.

Match coverage

The club will have updates of the match against Sport London on social media, as well as a match report on the official website and our new official app.