AFC Bournemouth Women’s striker Jenna Markham has her eyes on another golden boot this season after winning the award for the 24/25 season.
The striker racked up 24 league goals in 26 games as the Cherries won both the National League Division One South West and the FA Women’s National League plate.
She said: “Last season I set myself a target of 30 goals. Coming into a higher league I reduced that to 25, but if I could get 25 that would be a huge achievement for me.”
Markham has six goals so far this season, five behind summer signing Sophie Quirk who leads the league with eleven.
The Cherries’ next match is one of the biggest in the team’s history as they are set to host Manchester City in the Women’s FA Cup on Sunday.
City are top of the Women’s Super League and six points ahead of Chelsea who are second.
The Cityzens have won the Women’s FA Cup three times in their history: 2017, 2019 and 2020.
Bournemouth are two leagues below City and will be the underdogs in the match, a new experience for the Cherries as they haven’t lost a league match in over two years.
Markham said: “Of course there’s nerves, we’re playing people that you watch on TV when you were younger, so it’s crazy.
“I think it’s mostly excitement from what I’ve gathered from everyone else. We’ve said we’re not expected to win it so there’s not pressure in that sense but it will be weird playing against sort of celebrities.”
After scoring in their third-round 5-0 win against Fulham to earn the Cherries the tie with City, Markham will be looking to score against the WSL leaders.
She said: “I’ve manifested it for the past couple of weeks before bed to be honest, it would be incredible.
“I think it’d be the best moment in my career and to share it with all the girls that have built such a great project here would be incredible.”
Markham’s teammate, Cherries midfielder Elena Cole, is also looking forward to the challenge of the WSL leaders.
Cole said: “I don’t really get nervous for games. Of course, when it’s a bigger game, there’s more pressure. But yeah, I don’t really get nervous.
“I think the person I’m most excited to play, depending on if they start or come on, is probably Vivianne Miedema. She’s just world class and I just can’t wait to play her to be honest.”
You can listen BUzz News reporter Ben Jones’ podcast with Elena below:
Sunday’s fixture against City is being played at AFC Totton’s Snows Stadium rather than Bournemouth’s Vitality Stadium which the Women’s team often plays high profile games.
The club said in a statement that the decision was made to protect the pitch at Vitality Stadium, a choice that was met with disappointment from Cherries fans.
The game kicks off at Snows Stadium at 1pm this Sunday.
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