Women's report | Wolves 1-3 Stoke
The Wolves Women's team lost to Stoke City in the crucial match of the FAWNL Cup on Wednesday night, which means they will now be playing for the FAWNL Plate in the upcoming 2024/2025 season.
Dan McNamara made four adjustments to his team that won against Derby County in their last match and aimed to achieve the same success with a slightly different lineup.
Both teams struggled to take control of the game early on, with no shots being taken in the first 15 minutes. However, it was the visiting team who had the first real chance, as Tamara Wilcox narrowly missed the target with a shot shortly after.
Bec Thomas was the player who motivated the Wolves team in the first 20 minutes by making two important saves. The first save came from a powerful shot by Erin Nelson, and the second save was a header from Wilcox that was deflected around the post.
The home team started to improve their performance during the game as Jade Cross came close to scoring after receiving a cross from Anna Morphet on the left side. However, Liz Hobson, the goalkeeper for the opposing team, managed to save her shot.
In the last moments of the first half, Ania Denham had a chance to score when she received a pass from Hannah Fryer inside the penalty area. However, her shot was saved by Hobson, ending the half with no change in the score.
At the halfway point in the game, the score is still tied between Wolves and Stoke at 0-0.
The guests began the second half strongly, but it was Charlotte Greengrass who scored first in the 52nd minute. Fryer brilliantly kept Morphet's pass in play near the goal, allowing Greengrass to score with a header and give Wolves the lead.
Nevertheless, Wolves found themselves with one less player only five minutes after when Abi Loydon received her second yellow card.
The visitors gained momentum when Millie Ravening scored two goals in a short period of four minutes. She first scored a beautiful free-kick, followed by a penalty that gave Stoke the lead with just over 15 minutes remaining in the game.
The home team had a challenging night as Delphi Cole scored again for the visiting team in the 84th minute, extending their lead.
McNamara's team put up a good fight, but unfortunately they couldn't hold off their opponents who had the upper hand with one more player.
The Wolves are preparing for their upcoming match against Nottingham Forest at their home ground this Sunday, aiming to continue their unbeaten run in the league.
Full-time | Wolves 1-3 Stoke The match between Wolves and Stoke ended with a score of 1-3 in favor of Stoke.
Wolves players in the blog were Thomas, Morphet, Holmes, J. Cross, Loydon, Greengrass, MacPhail, Fryer, Denham, Roberts, and Smith. Anderson, Johnson, E. Cross, and Jenner were also mentioned as substitutes.
Unused substitutes: Elbro, George, Toussaint.
Stoke's lineup included Hobson, Thompson, Reavill, Cook (Suttie substituted in the 81st minute), Kivel, Holder, Watson (Higginbottom substituted in the 81st minute), Ravening, Nelson (Stamps substituted in the 66th minute), Cole (Priestly substituted in the 87th minute), and Wilcock (Molinari substituted in the 66th minute).
Substitutes left unused: Bracewell and Tudor did not get a chance to play.
1st September 2024 Nottingham Forest will be playing at home in the Northern Premier Division of the FAWNL.
On August 9, 2024, Burnley will play an away game in the FAWNL Northern Premier Division.
On September 15, 2024, Hull City will be playing at home in the FAWNL Northern Premier Division.
On September 22, 2024, Stoke City will be playing away in the FAWNL Northern Premier Division.
On September 25, 2024, Sporting Khalsa will be playing away in the FAWNL Northern Premier Division.
Blog post from Callum Greybanks -OR- Article by Callum Greybanks
