The early stages of the game were competitive and fast paced as Wolves looked to familiarise themselves in their new home ground, but it was the visitors Ipswich who settled the quicker of the two teams.
Fresh from Northern Ireland duty at the Euros, Shan Turner made a great save to deny Anna Grey, but Summer Hughes reacted quickest to slot home the rebound from close range to give the visitors the lead.
Wolves looked to respond to the early set back and battled well, however Ipswich doubled their lead as Grey’s inviting cross was turned home by Natasha Thomas at the back post in the 15th minute.
Shortly after, Thomas nearly had her second, and Ipswich’s third of the game, but Turner made a fantastic stop, tipping Thomas’ shot onto the crossbar before the resulting corner was cleared.
Midway through the first-half, a drinks break was called due to the heat, which gave Wolves a chance to reset and for manager Dan McNamara to get a message across to his players.
Whatever was said during the interval had the perfect effect, as Amber Hughes immediately latched onto Helen Dermody’s defence-splitting pass, before her left-footed shot crashed in off the post to halve the deficit.
Tammi George then came close to grabbing an equaliser as Wolves grew into the game, but she was thwarted by Ipswich goalkeeper Sarah Quantrill who came out quickly to smother her shot.
At the other end, a brilliant piece of defending from Anna Morphet prevented the visitors from regaining their two-goal lead, as the defender was perfectly placed to block Thomas’ shot on the line, before Turner gathered.
The visitors had kept Turner busy in the first-half whilst enjoying lots of possession however, the old gold undoubtedly improved as the half went on and found themselves trailing 2-1 at the break with everything to play for.
Half-time | Wolves 1-2 Ipswich
Two minutes into the second period, the visitors scored their third as Thomas curled a stunning effort into the top corner from outside the area.
This wasn’t the start to the second-half Wolves wanted, but the response was encouraging as good pressure saw them win the ball back in a dangerous position, with debutant Destiny Toussaint finding Hughes, who teed up Beth Merrick, but Quantrill was equal to her shot, palming it behind for a corner.
Just after the hour mark, Ipswich then added a fourth goal on the break as Zoe Barratt got in behind the backline and calmly finished from inside the penalty area to increase the visitors’ lead.
Wolves responded by turning to the bench and making two substitutions to freshen things up, as Jade Cross and Katie Johnson replaced Ria Elsmore and Toussaint.
Johnson wasted no time in getting involved in the action, as she cut in from the left-hand side and saw her curling shot narrowly go wide of the far post.
Lizzie Bennett-Steele replaced Maz Gauntlett and became Wolves’ second debutant of the day. She put in a great cross from the right-hand side, but Merrick was crowded out by blue shirts and was unable to get her shot away.
As expected in pre-season, the changes continued to come as McNamara gave his squad a run out with both Laura Cooper and a trialist being introduced before another three substitutions were made. Amy Dicken, Ellie Butler and Leo Joyce replaced Dermody, Merrick and Tammi George.
Bennett-Steele had looked dangerous when she came on and was unlucky to not have pulled one back, but she couldn’t direct her header which went over the bar.
Wolves continued to show good spirit and with the last kick of the game, scored a second goal as Dicken headed home from a deep free kick to reduce the deficit.
Immediately after, the referee brought play to end, meaning Dicken’s consolation goal was the last kick of the game as the visitors came away with a 4-2 victory in the final pre-season friendly.
The game provided a tough rest against strong opposition, as attention now turns to next week’s season opener at Jericho Lane where Wolves take on Liverpool Feds in their first League game of the campaign.
Full-time | Wolves 2-4 Ipswich
REACTION
Head coach McNamara said he was disappointed with the defeat and to end the pre-season campaign with a loss but admitted it may take a few weeks to rediscover last season’s form.
He said: “It was really disappointing today, I’m always honest with the players and I think there were too many playing within themselves. It was a hugely disappointing way to end preseason, but we just said then in the huddle about clicking, and that click may not come for a few weeks yet.”
On pre-season as a whole
“It’s been a disjointed pre-season and I take responsibility for that. Me not being here and being away with the military is not ideal but ultimately, we have to come together now quickly and make sure we are ready to perform.”
On the new signings
“They are both quality players, we wanted to strengthen in the wide areas, and they are both excellent players and good additions to an already really competitive squad.
“I am delighted to get them in, I am looking forward to working with them it will take a couple of weeks for them to adapt to how we play but I thought they have a good account of themselves today and I am excited to work with them going forward.”
On the new surroundings
“It’s amazing especially when the goals go in, that roar from the crowd echoes across the pitch so it’s fantastic. I know there’s a little bit of negativity around the move, but we have to do what is right for the girls and this facility is right for the next step in the girl’s development.
“We would urge people to get down and support, hopefully we can continue with the great following and engage with the local Telford area and get some of the Wolves fans from Telford here and they can enjoy the occasions with us.”
On next week’s season opener
“It’s going to be tough. When you go to the north west, especially Liverpool, you know what you are going to get. That is where I’ve come from and learnt my trade.
“It’s going to be hard, they have come up for a reason. We got beat by them last season, so we need to be on it. We need to be ready to battle and show heart and desire and hopefully come away with some points.”
NEXT FIVE
21/08 Liverpool Feds (A)
28/08 Huddersfield (A)
30/08 Stoke (A)
04/09 Loughborough Lightning (H)
18/09 Nottingham Forest (A)
TEAMS
Wolves: Turner, Morphet, E. Cross, Elsmore (J. Cross 66), George (Joyce 88), Gauntlett (Bennett-Steele 78), Dermody (Dicken 88), Hughes (Cooper 84), Holmes (Trialist 84) Toussaint (Johnson 66), Merrick (Butler 88).
Ipswich: Quantrill (Meollo 84), Boswell (Evans 76), Horwood, Lafayette, Hughes, Robertson, King, (Wearing 76), Grey (Hailes 84), Brasero-Carreira, Barratt (Way 84), Thomas.
By Fraser Bishop
