Wolves Women 3 (Walker 3', J.Cross 17', Williams 25')
Birmingham & West Midlands Ladies 1 (Fisher 78')
Report by Peter Westwood, photograph by Simon Faulkner
Wolves got off to a great start, going ahead in the third minute as Lowri Walker headed home.
It wasn’t long before they doubled their lead after the ball was played through to Jade Cross, she beat the offside trap and rounded the keeper, slotting it into an empty net.
Wolves continued to press, with Cross shooting wide, and Morphet sending her free kick just over the bar.
Their dominance paid off in the 25th minute when a through ball found Chloe Williams, who thundered her shot past the keeper to put the visitors 3-0 up.
Both teams were creating chances, with Williams going closest for Wolves who went in at the break with a 3-0 lead.
Birmingham and West Midlands Ladies got themselves back into the game in the second half, creating most of the chances and repeatedly testing the Wolves’ defence.
They hosts hit the bar twice and netted a deserved goal in the 78th minute after a defensive mistake allowed Fisher to take her opportunity and slot the ball into the bottom corner to make it 1-3.
Despite their pressure, Birmingham and West Midlands failed to break down the Wolves defence again and the visitors held on to take all 3 points.
MOMENT OF THE MATCH
In a game which featured three different goal scorers for Wolves it was Williams’ goal which stood out as she took a touch to control the ball in the box and thunder her shot past the keeper.
QUOTES
With Wolves securing their third consecutive league victory, manager Dan McNamara was pleased with the performance.
He said:“I thought it was a really professional performance today. We studied Birmingham and West Midlands and knew what they were going to bring. I thought we dealt with it very well.
"In the first half I thought we really came out of the traps and caused them problems, and it could have been over by half time.
"In the second half we didn’t really get going, but overall it was good to get three points and we are still top of the league after our first big challenge.”
COMING UP
Up next for Wolves is a return to Bilston Town FC under floodlights to take on Sporting Khalsa this Wednesday in the FA Women’s National League Midlands Division One. Kick-off is 7.45pm. Admission is £2; concessions and Wolves season ticket holders £1.
NEXT FIVE
- 12/09 - Sporting Khalsa Ladies (H)
- 16/09 - Burton Albion Ladies (A)
- 23/09- Kingfisher (H) FA Cup
- 30/09 - Nettleham Ladies (H)
- 03/10 - The New Saints (H)
TEAMS
Wolves | Elbro, Butler, E.Cross, Morphet, Price, Barnett (Wilkie 85), Walker, Williams, Haynes (Criddle, 65) , Anslow, J.Cross, (Jennings 75)
Unused subs | Widdal, Jones
Birmingham & West Midlands Ladies | Bell, Kirby, Albas-Martin, Evans, Lloyd, Jennings, Gallop, Morris, Bryan, Gibson, Fisher
