Widdal hits 200 for Wolves

It’s 200 and counting for Wolves stalwart Nat Widdal as she prepares for Sunday’s third round Birmingham County Cup tie against Solihull Ladies United.

The 27-year-old left back, who has been on the club’s books since she was 10, clocked up her 200th appearance in last Sunday’s FA Cup defeat by Fylde.

It was a very special occasion for ‘Widds’, as she is nicknamed, having been born and brought up just three miles from Molineux in Fordhouses. 

“It was great to reach 200 games for the club and to do it playing with a class bunch of girls in the excellent squad we’ve got this season,” said Widdal.

“Making that many appearances is something to be proud of and hopefully there are lots more to come for a club I love playing for.

“There have been a few ups and downs in the 10 years I’ve been in the first team squad, with the highs of promotion but unfortunately the lows of relegation too.

“Promotion is our aim this season and it’s going well so far. We’re top of the table and I’m confident that we can keep our league form going.”

League fixtures are currently on hold as cup ties in three different competitions have been keeping Dan McNamara’s team busy in recent weeks.

Sadly, after a run of 11 straight wins in all competitions, they have gone out of the National League Cup and FA Cup in their last two outings.

But after respectively facing Stoke City and Fylde – both from a league higher than Wolves – this Sunday’s opponents are from a lower tier.

And after being underdogs going into both of those previous two ties, they will be overwhelming favourites to beat West Midlands League side Sutton United.

“Losing to Stoke and then Fylde was obviously disappointing,” said Widdal, “but we matched both teams and lost by only one goal in both games.

“We went behind to a very early goal against Fylde last Sunday, but we bounced straight back and in the second half we were well in control.

“We just didn’t get that bit of luck you need in front of goal, and it’s a real shame that we’ve gone out of the two big Cups before Christmas.

“But we’ll aim to go as far as we can in the County Cup, and hopefully Sunday’s game at Solihull can be a stepping stone on the way to lifting some silverware.”