Burnley 1 (Marshall 65) Wolves 2 (Hughes 47, Morphet 72)
Anna Morphet’s second half penalty sent Wolves Women’s promotion hopes to the last day of the season following a 2-1 away win to Burnley.
A goalless first half was full of chances as neither side could break the deadlock with Morphet clearing off the goal line to deny Burnley an opening advantage.
The second 45 livened up with an early goal from Amber Hughes on her return to the starting 11, but the hosts replied quickly by converting a header from a corner. However, after her first half heroics, Morphet rescued the old gold again, dispatching a penalty in the 72nd minute to send the race for promotion to the final game of the season next Sunday.
Wolves had failed to beat Burnley in a competitive match coming into the game and soon saw their opposition command a controlling start to the game as they gave off early warning sings.
Goalkeeper Shan Turner scuffed a clearance which saw Burnley have a clear sight at goal before the referee rescued Wolves with a blow of his whistle for a head injury to Naomi Bedeau.
The Clarets then worked the ‘keeper with a curling effort after Sarah Greenhalgh found space on the left before whipping her right foot around the ball and seeing it loop into the hands of Turner.
The Burnley winger soon found herself wide on the left again and this time looked to create a goal scoring opportunity. She hung a dangerous cross towards the back post where Laura Elford was left unmarked. The number six powered a header at goal but to the visitors’ fortunes, Turner reacted well to get across her goal and collect the shot.
After half an hour, nothing could separate the two sides as Hughes looked to create Wolves’ opener. Working well with Jade Cross by the right corner flag, she found space and drilled a low ball into the area. A stretching Laura Cooper tried to get on the end but the cross flew past a mass of players and out the other side of the box.
Elford caused the old gold more trouble at the end of the first half as she weaved in and out of players down the left. She was swarmed by defenders and felt contact, collapsing to the ground. As the home fans jeered in anger for a penalty the referee waved play on.
Another dangerous opportunity from Burnley ended a first half which was full of threatening chances and heroic defending. Turner was forced into a brilliant close-range save before the ball spilt out of her control and to the feet of Elford. Shifting the ball onto her left, she struck a deadly attempt towards an open goal where Morphet was there to control and clear off the goal line.
Half-time | Burnley 0-0 Wolves
A free-flowing Burnley from the first half was disrupted by an eager Hughes early on in the second. On her first start in six months, Wolves’ talisman got on the end of a looped pass over the defence. Angled out to the right, she hit a bobbling ball which flew over Lauren Bracewell in goal and nestled in for her 18th goal in 18 games this season.
The Clarets looked to reply by bombarding Turner’s goal with shots from Millie Ravening and Elford which flew shy of the crossbar and were blocked by a wall of Wolves defenders.
This continued pressure would soon pay off as the hosts were awarded a corner following a thunderous strike from Lizzie Hamer. The set-piece was curled deep towards the back post where Georgia Marshall rose the highest to head in and level the scores.
Wolves were quick to regain the lead just five minutes later. Cross found herself on the right and sent a ball into the area. Lucia Molinari attempted to block the cross but saw the ball strike her arm resulting in a penalty for McNamara’s women.
From saving a goal in the first half to scoring one in the second, Morphet stepped up to the penalty spot and sent Bracewell the wrong way, placing her shot into the bottom left corner.
Jay Bradford’s side would not rest and were back attacking the Wolves goal after they conceded. Ravening found herself with no one around her inside the penalty area and once again tried her luck at goal. As the ball lowered from the sky, she struck a misplaced volley which bounced into the hands of Turner.
A goalmouth scramble provided a heart-in-mouth moment for the travelling wolf pack. A free-kick on the left was curled into the area where the ball dropped to the ground at the far post before a plethora of shots ricocheted off the legs of defending Wolves players as Burnley piled their team inside the area. Beth Merrick did incredibly well to track back and win the ball before clearing her lines to avoid a late upset.
Full-time | Burnley 1-2 Wolves
REACTION
Head coach Dan McNamara was full of praise for his players, however he commended Burnley on their outstanding performance. He said: “I say it all the time, the girls were incredible, absolutely incredible. We knew it was going to be tough coming up here.
“They’re [Burnley] probably the best side we’ve played at our level for five years, they were absolutely outstanding. Some of the players they have, Millie Ravening being one of them, are outstanding. To come here and to play the way we did off the back of last week’s disappointment and what’s been a disappointing few weeks for us, it was incredible and all the credit goes to the girls. We asked them to go out and execute our plan and I thought they did that remarkably well.
“I say it all the time, when you’re as comfortable out of possession as you are with it, you’ve always got a real chance in games. I thought we didn’t have a lot of the ball in the first half and didn’t control the game but when you have Amber Hughes on the pitch and Destiney [Toussaint] and Beth Merrick and H [Helen Dermody], you always get a chance and it’s about taking it. I think in recent weeks we haven’t been taking that half chance but with Amber on the pitch, she takes her chance. So all the credit to the girls, incredible group. It doesn’t matter what happens from here, for this group to come through another set of adversaries last season and to now still be in it [promotion] in the final week is a huge credit to them all.”
On going into the second half
“We made a slight tactical change to what Amber was doing. We wanted her to play with a little bit more risk and get in that pocket. We knew when the centre halves stepped out, we could find her, this happened a couple of times in the second half and it worked well.
“Delighted with the way they applied themselves in the second half. But we didn’t have to come here and win, we knew that it was all on Burnley. Like we had it last weekend, it was on a plate for them so we just wanted to stay in the game and ride our luck. They had a chance in the first half that they probably should convert but we just wanted to stay in it and eventually, we knew we would get out opportunities. This week it’s gone our way but what a fantastic advert for women’s football, a great game, really tenacious.”
On Amber Hughes returning to the team
“Amber is probably at 65% but this is that big of a game that we want her to be in it next week and we saw today that’s what you get from her. She’s one of the best number nines in this league, you give her half a chance and she scores it. She’s created that chance herself, a great ball in, a great touch across the centre half and what a finish past an outstanding goalkeeper. We want to continue working with her and she’ll drive us forward over the next couple of years and get us into that Championship where we ultimately want to be.”
On the nerves up until the final whistle
“Again, we didn’t have to win today, we just wanted to be in with a chance next week whatever that looked like. I think a draw was enough to take it to the final week so when it goes in you think the momentum is going to switch to Burnley, they had 10 minutes where they kept the pressure on and I thought they dealt with it really well. I was disappointed to concede from the corner, I think that’s the first one in a while and the girls will be disappointed in that. To only be undone by one set piece against, like I said, some of the best players in the league. To limit them to only a few opportunities and to pot-shots from outside the box was a credit to the girls.
“A special mention to Destiney [Toussaint] who over the past few weeks has gone from strength to strength. She was a real leader out there today in some tough moments. She’s an outstanding person and a fantastic football player. She’s another one who we will be working hard to tie her down and hopefully continue to work with her into next season.”
On facing Brighouse next week
“Brighouse are a tough side, we saw what they did to Forest last week and they won’t want to lie down, they want to finish the league strong. I know they were here today to have a look and they’ll have their own ambitions of starting next season next weekend and getting a win under their belt. It’s going to be tough but there are no easy games in this league. I’m not interested in what goes on elsewhere, for me Forest has already won the league, there are 25 goals in it and you’re not scoring 25 goals against anyone.
“We go into next week and just enjoy it. We enjoy the success of once again going into the end of April, start of May and still being in this title race, which is unbelievable by the girls. I can’t tell you how successful that is when we’re getting the best out of them. We’re using all the great stuff that Wolves have given us to get the very best out of every single player, so to still be competing against all of these clubs is an absolute success in itself. I’m really, really proud of them and we’ll enjoy two more games together and see out the season.”
LAST TWO
30/04 Brighouse (A)
09/05 Stourbridge BCC
TEAMS
Burnley | Bracewell, Cooper, Marshall, Walsh, Molinari, Miller, Embley, Hamer, Elford, Ravening, S. Greenhalgh (Preistley 60).
Unused subs | Farrell, O. Greenhalgh, Willis, Coleman-Evans.
Wolves | Turner, Cooper, Morphet, E. Cross, J. Cross, Dermody (Price 88), Hughes (Miller 70), Bedeau, Toussaint, Roberts (Johnson 85), Merrick.
Unused subs | Dicken, Smith
Report by Tom Alston
