Beth Merrick helped her side get back to winning ways with two stunning first half goals as Wolves Women secured a 4-1 win away to AFC Fylde.
It was an opening 45 minutes full of goals at Kellamergh Park with Wolves Women earning an impressive 3-0 advantage within the first 21 minutes of the match. A brace from Merrick, with both goals being superb efforts from range, was backed up with Destiney Toussaint tapping into an open goal.
Fylde were able to grab a goal back before the break, teeing up a more balanced second half before Tammi George restored the visitors’ three-goal cushion in stoppage time with a beautifully chipped finish.
Wolves looked to respond to their exit from the League Cup last Sunday with five changes to the line-up, as Anna Price came in to equal Anne Blackham’s club record of 348 appearances in old gold.
Dan McNamara’s side wasted no time in opening the scoring as Merrick picked up the ball on the left before cutting inside onto her favoured right foot where she cannoned a long-range strike which arched over Megan Hunter and into the goal just a few minutes into the contest.
Almost two just minutes later, Jade Cross burst through the high defensive line from Fylde and knocked the ball around Hunter. The shot-stopper was quick to get back to her feet and pounce on Cross, knocking the ball out of play.
Both goalkeepers enjoyed a busy afternoon as Shan Turner was called into action, diving well to her left to save a powerful effort from Faye McCoy before Hunter was quick to spring off her line again to deny Toussaint in a one-on-one situation.
Wolves had failed to win in their last three fixtures against the Coasters, but Merrick looked to put a change to that as she scored her second of the afternoon in spectacular fashion. Wolves number 28 cut onto her right foot, far on the left wing, and whipped a deadly attempt high towards goal. Her shot dipped dramatically, looping over Hunter and nestling into the inside netting.
The pressure from McNamara’s team was relentless and their third goal would soon follow. Toussaint was denied by the flag a handful of times on the right before she found space on the left and charged towards the goal. Her initial shot was saved but the rebound fell kindly to her as she tapped the ball into an open net without breaking her stride.
Despite the heavy score line, Fylde were still hungry to end their five-game goal drought and saw their luck turn when McCoy was brought down in the area by Beth Roberts. The Fylde 23 stepped up from 12 yards and drilled it past Turner to pull one back for the hosts.
Wolves finished the first half with a plethora of missed chances from Cross and Toussaint as both players were unable to convert from close range, with Cross tapping wide on the volley before her counterpart failed to apply a simple finish having rounded Hunter in goal.
Half-time | AFC Fylde 1-3 Wolves
The story of the second half was vastly different to that of the first as Wolves struggled to make an impact on the home goal but saw James Mallett field a revitalised 11 who bossed more possession and tested Turner. Salma Simonin, who is on loan from Manchester City, arrowed a dangerous strike on target, forcing the goalkeeper to palm it away before McCoy tried her luck once again, only to blast over the crossbar.
There was a lot of commanding to do for Price on her record-equalling appearance and the captain was called into action more than she would have hoped after half-time as she dominated aerially, heading clear multiple dangerous corners that were swung in.
A double substitution from McNamara looked to inject some creativity into a visiting side who were unrecognisable from their dominant first half performance. Ali Miller and Amy Dicken spearheaded a new-look attack that saw a succession of corners defended well by the home side.
From there, the visitors battled to keep a determined Fylde away from scoring and to avoid making the remaining minutes more difficult than they should be. However, the ending of the game would be calmed down by a fourth goal for Wolves with George breaking away from the Fylde defence before lifting a shot up and over an onrushing Hunter which ricocheted off the post and into the net.
Full-time | AFC Fylde 1-4 Wolves
REACTION
Following last week’s exit from the League Cup after losing to Watford 2-0, head coach McNamara was pleased with his side’s performance but still thinks they are capable of being more clinical in the final third.
“It’s a tough place to come and it’s our first league win against Fylde for a fair few years so to get that hurdle out of the way and to win quite convincingly is quite good and I was really pleased for the girls. It was a great way to bounce back after the disappointment of last week.”
On Beth Merrick’s performance
“We’re trying to get Beth higher up the pitch and we’re trying to get her on the ball more and you’ve seen why today, she’s outstanding. She’s one of the best forward players in this league and we’ve been working with her to try and get her in those areas where she can really affect the game and you’ve seen that today. I thought first half she was fantastic so I’m pleased for Beth to get a couple of goals today.”
On his thoughts at half-time
“We need to be more clinical. It’s tough when we’re missing Amber (Hughes) as one of those forward players but we need to be more clinical in the final third. We probably could have killed the game at half-time, 3-1 still allows them (Fylde) an avenue back into the game. We knew they were going to come out in the second half and be a little bit more aggressive and go for it but we soaked up that pressure. We limited them to very few chances and then we went and grabbed the fourth which killed the game late on. I’m very pleased and it’s great to see Tammi (George) add to her goal tally at the end.”
On Anna Price equalling the appearance record
“Perks (Price) is a fantastic person and I’m delighted for her. I just mentioned to the girls she’s that humble she didn’t know about it, so for her to go on and break that record under my tenure, it’s a really proud moment for me as well. I’ve seen what she’s given to the club over my five years, never mind the previous years to that. She’s a leader, she’s an amazing person, a fantastic footballer. She’s had limited minutes over the last few weeks and she’s come out and performed like she has done today.
“She epitomises everything Wolves Women is about and hopefully she can keep adding to her appearances and get that record but there isn’t anyone who deserves it more than Anna, her family will be really proud and the players are and we as staff are too.”
COMING UP
Wolves Women will travel to the Hawthorns on Thursday night to face West Brom before playing them just four days later in the semi-final of the Birmingham County Cup. McNamara admitted it will be difficult but insists they will take it one game at a time.
He said: “1996 was the last time a Wolves team won at the Hawthorns and they’ve had a few games there now and are unbeaten there as the women’s team. We know they’re going to be tough to beat and Albion have got great management and great coaching staff there and they’re going to make it difficult so we have to make sure we really switch one.
“It’s hard enough to play them once but we play them twice in four days but we’re not thinking about Sunday yet, we just want to go there and make a good account of ourselves. If we perform to levels we have done in certain moments today we will cause them problems and hopefully, we can go there and get three points to keep up with the league leaders.”
NEXT FIVE
- 12/03 West Brom (A)
- 19/03 West Brom (A) BCC
- 26/03 Burnley (A)
- 02/04 Huddersfield Town (H)
- 09/04 Liverpool Feds (H)
TEAMS
AFC Fylde | Hunter, Fryer, Young, Bickett (Samson 68), Siddal, Forster, Rowe (Holbrook 90), Taylor (Binks 79), Merrin, McCoy (Whittaker 86), Simonin.
Unused subs | Fenton.
Wolves | Turner, Roberts, Morphet, Price, E. Cross (Elsmore 90), George, J. Cross (Miller 81), Cooper, Holmes (Smith 70), Toussaint, Merrick (Dicken 81).
Unused subs | Johnson.
Report by Tom Alston
