Wolves Women 11 (Fryer 18, George 48, 62, Toussaint 60, 88, Hughes 66, 76, 90+3, Morphet pen 68, Wilson 73, Merrick 85) Doncaster Rovers Belles 1 (Tugby-Andrew 52)
Wolves Women progressed into the FA Women’s National League Cup following an emphatic 11-1 victory over Doncaster Rovers Belles in the determining round at Compton.
A goal from Hannah Fryer on her competitive debut gave Wolves a narrow lead at the break.
Tammi George’s close-range finish added a second before Jess Tugby-Andrew pulled a goal back for the visitors.
Substitute Destiney Toussaint restored the host's two-goal lead, as three quickfire goals from George, Amber Hughes and Anna Morphet put the result out of sight with 20 minutes left.
Ellie Wilson added a seventh, before Hughes’ second, Beth Merrick and another from Toussaint made it 10. With the last attack of the game, Hughes glanced a header home to complete her hat-trick to round off a ruthless afternoon in front of goal.
Dan McNamara’s side made a positive start to the tie and had Doncaster pinned into their own half for the opening few minutes.
Morphet’s in-swinging corner found Merrick at the far post, whose close-range effort was saved behind by Ellie Sharpe. Merrick Will then saw her headed attempt fly narrowly wide of the upright.
The hosts were almost made to regret their missed chances, as Doncaster came close to finding an opener.
Shelby Morris ghosted in behind the Wolves backline and fired an effort across goal, but Shan Turner was on hand to claw away.
With 18 minutes played, Fryer found space on the edge of the area. The no.18 took a touch and fired a bending effort into the left-hand corner of Sharpe’s goal.
A goal for Hannah Fryer on her competitive debut 👏 pic.twitter.com/P1GIpJDbGs
— Wolves Women FC (@WolvesWomen) August 27, 2023
George’s looping shot bounced off the crossbar before Liv Fergusson headed wide as the hosts went in ahead at the break.
Half-time | Wolves 1–0 Doncaster Rovers Belles
McNamara’s side doubled their lead in the 48th minute. Morphet’s corner was initially headed onto the crossbar by Wilson, and George was on hand to tap home the rebound.
The two-goal cushion lasted just four minutes, and Doncaster pulled a goal back when Holly Housley’s free-kick was nodded home by Tugby-Andrew.
Toussaint, Helen Dermody and Beth Roberts were introduced following the goal, and it was the former who made an instant impact.
Merrick crossed a dangerous ball into the area, and Toussaint was perfectly placed to head over the helpless Sharpe.
Wilson then progressed down the right flank and fizzed a low ball across the box, her cross deflected off a Doncaster defender and George was again the first to react to poke home for 4-1.
Morphet’s deliveries continued to cause problems for the visiting defence, and it was her corner that eventually fell to Hughes, who bundled home from close range.
Two minutes later, Wilson was brought down in the area by Lilli Broadhurst. Morphet stepped up and slotted coolly low to Sharpe’s right-hand side.
Roberts then progressed down the left wing and fired across goal for the onrushing Wilson to slot home Wolves’ seventh before Hughes added her second with another close-range finish.
It's raining goals at Compton 😍 pic.twitter.com/dqMy8TbYTY
— Wolves Women FC (@WolvesWomen) August 27, 2023
A short free-kick led to a one-two between Merrick and Dermody before the former made a yard on the edge of the area and struck a powerful effort into the near post of the away goal.
Toussaint netted her second after Dermody’s effort rebounded back to the midfielder, and there was still time for Hughes to complete her hat trick when she glanced in a header in stoppage time.
Full-time | Wolves 11–1 Doncaster Rovers Belles
DAN MCNAMARA’S REACTION
On his assessment of the game
“Very pleasing, it was all about getting into the cup, that’s the idea behind today. I’m really pleased, there were some great goals on display after we got through that first half, so a pleasing result and plenty of goals for the team.
“The way they were shared around with various goalscorers was pleasing too, so overall very happy to get into the next round and we move on to next week.”
On what was said at half-time to inspire that second-half display
“We spoke about how difficult it is to play against teams that don’t offer very much going forward. I thought Doncaster did well to follow their game plan in the first half, they tried to frustrate us and they did that. It’s hard when there are 11 players behind the ball, trying to find spaces and opportunities to play through is really difficult.
“We talked about being patient, we knew that as the game went on they would tire by mentally trying to keep their structure. Physically we thought we would probably be stronger as the game went on and the proof was in the pudding in the end.
“We talked about being a little bit more clinical, having a little bit more quality in the final third but keep doing what we were doing, maybe just move the ball a little quicker. I thought the girls responded really well, the subs came on and had a big impact on the game, so overall it’s very good to get through and hopefully, we’ll get a draw in the next round. We want to do well in all the cups.”
On Amber Hughes’ hat-trick
“I don’t think it was Amber’s finest hat-trick, but she’ll tell you as a centre forward that goals are goals. You’ve got to be in and amongst it, she can score fantastic goals and she can score poacher's goals like she did today, it’s what she does.
“She’s a goalscorer and that’s why people are desperate to get her signature, thankfully, she’s with us again. I think this will be an exciting season for her, she’s got four in two games and hopefully, she can continue and take that form into next week's game and some big games that are coming up in the next few weeks.
“But it wasn’t just Amber, Destiney has come on and got a couple of goals, Ellie Wilson, Tammi’s got two, and I know I’ve missed a couple of others but I think if you look away from the goals as well, there were some fantastic performances. Olivia Fergusson created a lot on the right-hand side, I thought she was fantastic, Robbo impacted the game too. As I said I thought it was a really good team performance and we’re delighted to have progressed.”
On Burnley next week
“We’re a little bit disappointed we didn’t keep a clean sheet, one lapse in concentration and they found themselves back in the game, so there’s a bit of disappointment and we’ll have a look at that this week.
“So not all positives, we've got to go away and work on the negatives because we’ve got a tough match next week at Burnley.
“They're going to be up there with the frontrunners for the league this year with their structure and the people that they’ve brought in over the summer, it's going to be interesting to see how we adapt this week and how we apply ourselves for what will be a really tough game away from home.”
NEXT FIVE
03/09/23 Burnley (A)
06/09/23 Stourbridge (H)
10/09/23 Halifax (H)
17/09/23 Stoke City (A)
24/09/23 Fylde (H)
TEAMS
Wolves | Turner, Wilson, Morphet (Johnson 70), E. Cross, Fryer (Roberts 58), Will (Dermody 58), J. Cross (Toussaint 58), Hughes, George (Dicken 70), Fergusson, Merrick.
Subs not used | N/A
Doncaster Rovers Belles | Sharpe, Johnson, Rattenbury, J. Tugby-Andrew, Housley, L. Tugby-Andrew, McWilliams, Saxton, Broadhurst (Breen 71), Abadi (Yates 84), Morris (Brown 46).
Subs not used | Mortimer, Barlow.
Report by Joe Dixon
