Bridgwater United welcome
Manchester United to Somerset on Sunday for a fourth-round game to savour
It is a chilly Tuesday evening at Fairfax Park, home to Bridgwater United, and in the modest main stand it is out with the old and in with the new. A volunteer, Richard Gudge, is replacing 150 red and black seats as preparations to play host to Manchester United in front of a record crowd continue.
The Women’s FA Cup shimmers on a plinth before camera crews and huddling children keen to take a closer look. These are snapshots that epitomise a community bursting with pride. “I’ve taken the week off work to be here to help,” says Gudge, a decorator whose daughter, Freya, plays for the under-21s.