For those of you expecting the skipper, you’ll be slightly disappointed as she has kindly handed the responsibility of writing this week’s notebook over to me. Having sat down to write this, I was beginning to question why I agreed to it, especially as the deal was ‘only if we win’!

This weekend’s Welsh Cup quarter-final at Park Hall marked my first appearance in the Welsh Cup this season. All I’ll say is one day I’ll learn to keep my mouth shut (or not...).

Luckily for me, the girls had done a fantastic job of getting to this stage, and following our exit in the semi-final last season, we all felt like we had unfinished business in this competition – unfortunately, it wasn’t meant to be this year.

Despite the result, I’d like to put on record how hugely proud I am of all of the girls and the performance we put in on Sunday. For me, there was only one team in the game during the first half – we outplayed and outbattled them, with another superbly taken goal from Lleucu.

The TNS crowd were fairly quiet, but in their defence, perhaps they had both popped to get a cup of tea.

As we all know, football is not a 45-minute game, and a couple of errors leading to soft goals gifted them a way back into the game.

In true Aber style, we battled back admirably and managed to grab an equaliser late on. And what a goal it was! Another one of the youngsters, Gwenllian Mason, delightfully chipping the ball over the keeper – I heard the assist wasn’t too bad either…

Deciding a game on penalties is always cruel and is ultimately a lottery as to who comes out on top. Credit must go to those that stepped up to take one, even if it took some gentle persuasion! It wasn’t our day today, but the great thing about football is you soon have an opportunity to bounce back and put things right.

It is sure to be an exciting day on Sunday, as we welcome current league leaders Cardiff City to Park Avenue for our final match before the festive break. This game has the added importance of being our dedicated Her Game Too matchday, which is a campaign that aims to create a safe and welcoming environment for everyone, regardless of their background, ability, or gender.

As a club, promoting women’s football and providing opportunities for women and girls to take part in football is something we all feel incredibly strongly about. From our senior teams right down to the new Huddle sessions, the coaching outreach in primary schools to welcoming local groups to our games as mascots – we are punching well above our weight and the future of female sport in Ceredigion and Central Wales is certainly looking bright.

Despite what a certain ex ‘footballer’ may think, football is for everyone, and we are here to stay.

A huge thank you for the continued support over the last year, let’s make the last game of 2023 a good one and we look forward to seeing you all there on Sunday!