Chatham Town Women look to put their league frustrations aside for the weekend when they aim for a spot in the Kent Cup final.

Keith Boanas’ side looked on for their first league win of the season at home to Oxford United on Sunday before a “soft” penalty decision swung the momentum in favour of the visitors. They ended up losing 3-2.

That match came a week after conceding late against Plymouth Argyle and taking just a point from a match they were winning.

Now the focus this weekend is on an away match against London & South East Regional promotion chasers Dartford in the semi-final of the Kent’s Women’s Cup.

Boanas said: “The county cup would not be top of the priority list at the start of the season but the three targets that Kevin Hake (the chairman) gave me was the third round of the FA Cup, tick, win the Kent cup and avoid relegation.

“We have to go and win this one and we can’t afford to take it lightly. I played them earlier in the season when I was at Millwall and I know them, I am sure they will plan meticulously to get something out of us.

“We have to take it seriously, not just to win the game because we want to win the cup, it’s about winning any game and building confidence and getting smiles back on faces.”

Chatham don’t return to league action now until hosting Cardiff City on Sunday, February 11 in a crucial match in their efforts to avoid relegation.

Boanas has targeted three wins minimum for safety from their nine remaining games. Missing out last weekend was another big blow.

The manager said: “I couldn’t fault their efforts, but their goals came from two real individual errors and the first from a penalty that until I see the video I am adamant it shouldn’t have been given, it was so soft and that killed it, being 1-0 up early on and holding our own for the rest of the half, going in at 1-0 and feeling comfortable, doing what we had said and we were in the game until that penalty.

“You could see the body language of the players as it was given and it was unfortunately a ‘here we go again’ response.”

Breon Grant had scored Chatham’s opener in the first half but the Oxford penalty was the first of four goals in a 10-minute period, ending with the visitors leading 3-2, a scoreline which they kept hold of.

Zoe Barrett scored the penalty - the first of her hat-trick - and she doubled her tally soon after. Lottie Sharp made it 2-2 but a third Barrett goal put Oxford back in front.

Boanas said: “They scored their second while we were still reeling from the penalty but showed good character to get it to 2-2 and then they got a goal from a poor pass from a fatigued player. I knew what she was trying to do but didn’t get enough behind the pass, it was intercepted and they scored.

“We had a couple more chances but couldn’t get the third. “There were four minutes put on at the end, we were pushing, we had the momentum again, we had it as being at least six or seven minutes of stoppage-time, we don’t know where only four minutes came from.

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