A Destiney Toussaint double sent Wolves Women through to the semi-final of the Women’s National League Cup as the old gold beat Huddersfield Town in extra-time.
It took them 120 minutes but Wolves booked their place in the final four of the competition, where an away trip to Watford awaits.
Two first half goals from Toussaint and Jade Cross were cancelled out in the second by Beth Ibbotson and an Emma Cross own goal, before Toussaint crushed Town’s hopes with a close-range effort in the 102nd minute.
Maz Gauntlett lead the line and used her strength well in the area to spin her marker before firing a shot low, but Serena Fletcher read the play brilliantly and slid to Huddersfield’s rescue blocking a dangerous strike.
Without Amber Hughes in the side due to her injury, Beth Merrick was Wolves’ highest goal scorer on the pitch. She won possession expertly in her own half with a sliding tackle before weaving through a swarm of Terriers midfielders and lifting a ball over the top for Toussaint to run onto.
The Wolves winger spotted goalkeeper Abi Megeary off her line and attempted an audacious chip from outside the area. The ball swooped down onto the roof of the net with Megeary backpedalling.
The home side’s continuous pressure soon paid off with Toussaint breaking the deadlock. Glen Preston’s defence saw a handful of miscommunications as Megeary failed to claim two crosses before Toussaint smashed the ball into an open net.
Despite the slow start, Wolves were quick to make it two. Tammi George ran down the left channel and into the area before dragging a ball across the box. Gauntlett arrived looking to tap in but missed her shot leaving Cross at the far post to double the score.
Half-time | Wolves 2-0 Huddersfield Town
Dan McNamara’s side were straight back into the action once the second half began. Intricate link-up play between Gauntlett, George and Toussaint saw the latter burst down the right wing. She whipped an inviting cross into the area which was held up by Helen Dermody before Gauntlett smashed a header off the post.
Huddersfield Town took advantage of Wolves’ missed opportunity and quickly got themselves back into the match. Kate Mallins curled in a dangerous corner from the right before Ibbotson aimed a powerful header past debutant Nina Wilson.
The goal gave the visitors some newfound confidence and soon reaped the rewards of their high pressure. The old gold failed to keep the ball, misplacing multiple passes in their own half before Huddersfield mounted an attack. Mallin struck a shot goalward before Wilson parried the shot, but to her misfortunes, the ball deflected off Cross and into her own net equalling the scores.
Preston’s squad continued their pressure into the final minutes of the 90 with the home side struggling to regain control of the game. But a final flurry of chances for Wolves saw two corners headed off the line before Dermody’s long-range effort was palmed away by Megeary.
Full-time | Wolves 2-2 Huddersfield Town
Dermody looked to steal the headlines in the first half of extra-time as Katie Johnson targeted a lifted ball through to the Wolves captain. She took down the cross-field pass before trying to nudge the ball over Megeary but her shot lacked any power allowing the goalkeeper to calmly collect the ball.
However, when the ball fell to Toussaint’s feet minutes later inside the area, she made no mistake in putting all her force behind the ball.
Anna Morphet delivered yet another corner causing problems for the Huddersfield defence. Megeary came to claim but missed the ball with the resulting header falling to the feet of Toussaint who smashed the ball into an open net.
Second half substitute Ali Miller looked to see the game off in the second period of extra-time. After being slotted through, she found herself in a two-on-one position with Marianne Taho beside her. The Wolves number 19 looked to goal and sliced an out-swinging shot over the bar.
Full-time after extra-time| Wolves 3-2 Huddersfield Town
REACTION
Following the dramatic win, McNamara was full of praise for his side’s first half performance but said how they played in the second must change.
“It’s always great to be in the semi-final of the national cup. I thought it was a game of two halves certainly for ourselves. In the first half, we were excellent in moments and then we go in at half-time and don’t come back out, it was like watching two different teams. We’ve got to change that; we’ve got to get to the bottom of that and change it. The girls are disappointed with their own performances. But ultimately, we are delighted that we are in the semi-final of the cup and we’ve got an away day at Watford to look forward to.”
On his thoughts at half-time
“At half-time I thought we were in complete control of the game, I didn’t see the game going like that at all. I thought we looked really good out of possession, they [Huddersfield] were rarely breaking us down. They changed their game at half-time and it was a different competition between the two sides. At two nil they got one then all of a sudden, the game’s back on and Huddersfield showed that. We are disappointed with the goals we conceded, they weren’t like us. But, after last weekend it took a lot out of the girls and it was a big performance today to get through. We need to be positive, we are delighted with the win and we look forward to next Sunday.”
On scoring the winning goal in extra time
“It was amazing. It was great for Destiney as I thought she played fantastic today, she was back to her best but it still didn’t mask the disappointment of the performance. I’ll be honest with the girls, I’ll tell them when they’ve been fantastic and I’ll also tell them when their performance isn’t quite there. We’re delighted to be through, at half-time I expected us to go through, I expect this team to win most weeks that we play, so I think it’s more of a relief that we’ve made the breakthrough and got that goal that’s going to take us through.”
On Nina Wilson’s debut
“She’s got great experience with her time at various clubs in the Championship so it’s fantastic to add her quality to our squad. I thought she did well, she commanded her box, she’s very loud, talkative and takes ownership. It was great to see her in between the sticks and hopefully there will be many more games to come.”
COMING UP
Wolves face a big challenge next week as they host top-of-the-table Nottingham Forest at the New Bucks Head, where a win would put McNamara’s team just three points behind them with a game in hand.
“We’re taking this season game-by-game and next week is a massive game for Forest and a massive game for us,” McNamara said.
“They’ve taken control of this league now and everybody’s trying to catch them. They’ve got a great side and we’ll try and come up with a game plan this week to try and stop them with how good they are going forward. We look forward to it but it’s just another game for us and we’ve got to start getting some wins and some points on the board in 2023.”
NEXT FIVE
- 12/02 Nottingham Forest (H)
- 19/02 Knowle FC (A) BCC
- 22/02 Stoke City (H)
- 26/02 Loughborough (A)
- 05/03 Watford (A) FAWNL Cup
TEAMS
Wolves | Wilson, Morphet, E. Cross, George (Dicken 86), Gauntlett (Miller 59), J. Cross, Dermody (Taho 101), Holmes (Cooper 54), Johnson, Toussaint, Merrick (Price 118).
Huddersfield | Megeary, Fletcher, Marshall, Housley, Heslam, Stanfield, Ibbotson, Mallin (Anderson 81), Hulme (Parry 89), Mason, Sanderson.
Subs not used | Linsell, Langford, Suttie.
Report by Tom Alston
