New signings and a demanding pre-season set United up for league start
Oxford United Women will begin their 2026/27 WNL Southern Premier Division campaign on Sunday 16 August with a trip to Exeter City, buoyed by a pre-season that the manager described as encouraging. The side have used a challenging summer schedule to sharpen up and integrate new players ahead of the first league fixture.
Manager Liam Gilbert said his priority is to maintain the progress the squad has made over the close season.
"I just want us to continue to grow,"he told OUTV, stressing the need to channel excitement positively as competitive matches begin. He added that while results in pre-season are not the primary concern, how the team manages the opening stages of the campaign is important.
The club deliberately scheduled a demanding run of fixtures in pre-season, including four games in two weeks and matches against clubs from the top two tiers of women’s football. That programme featured narrow defeats and encouraging draws which the coaching staff view as useful tests of the squad’s resilience and tactical flexibility.
- The side drew with Wolverhampton Wanderers in one warm-up.
- They were narrowly beaten by Crystal Palace of the Women’s Super League.
- United beat last season’s champions Watford in pre-season.
According to Gilbert the variety of opponents allowed the coaching staff to see where the team needed to improve and to practice solutions to those problems. He spoke positively about the attitude of the players: "I just want the girls to be as free and confident as they can be, and then believe in everything they’ve done over the past six weeks."
Two arrivals expected to make immediate impact
Supporters will have two new faces to watch at the season’s start: Sophie Quirk and Maddie Brant. Both signings arrived from sides who were rivals in the same division last season and have been involved in pre-season preparations for Oxford.
Quirk joined United from AFC Bournemouth after a standout 2025/26 campaign in which she was named WNL Southern Premier Division Player of the Season. The 24-year-old winger scored 29 goals in 33 appearances during that season and capped pre-season with a goal against Boldmere St Michaels.
Brant, a 25-year-old left-back, arrived from Lewes, where she had been club captain. Her development included time with Chelsea’s youth setup before spending five years in the United States. Gilbert praised how both players have settled at the club and the influence they bring to the squad.
| Player | Age | Previous club | Notable detail |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sophie Quirk | 24 | AFC Bournemouth | 29 goals in 33 matches; 2025/26 Division Player of the Season |
| Maddie Brant | 25 | Lewes | Former club captain; Chelsea youth product; spent five years in the United States |
Gilbert also highlighted internal progression, noting that Eva Burgess has been promoted from the Under-18s squad and has made a strong impression in pre-season training and matches.
What this means for supporters and the campaign
For fans in Oxford, the combination of a strenuous pre-season and the arrival of high-profile signings offers cautious optimism. The results against higher-level opposition will have given the squad experience of different tactical setups and physical demands, which can be valuable in a long league season.
Gilbert’s focus on confidence and composure suggests a manager who wants the team to start the campaign with a clear identity and belief in the work done during the summer. With the opening fixture away at Exeter City approaching, supporters will be watching to see how quickly the new players settle into competitive action and whether the intensity of pre-season translates into early league points.
As the WNL Southern Premier Division season gets under way, Oxford United Women will aim to build on the foundations laid this summer and to turn pre-season lessons into consistent performances that benefit the club and its local following.
