Sutton Coldfield Town 0 Wolves Women 1 (Morphet 45+4)
Wolves Women began their Birmingham Challenge Cup defence with a narrow 1-0 win over 10-player Sutton Coldfield at Coles Lane.
The only goal of the game came courtesy of Anna Morphet’s penalty on the stroke of half-time, after Jade Cross was brought down by Ellie Mae Locke, who received a red card for her error.
Dan McNamara’s side began the match on the front foot, as Tammi George and Ania Denham went close in the opening moments.
With five minutes on the clock, Liv Fergusson whipped in a dangerous cross to the far post where George was waiting, however the midfielder could only steer her effort wide from point-blank range.
The visitors continued to look likely, and Beth Merrick twice came within inches of finding an opener.
She cut inside and fired a bending effort off the crossbar, before unleashing a low driven shot that crashed back off the post.
Despite Wolves’ dominance, Sutton’s defensive grit kept them firmly in the tie after 20 minutes.
A couple of stoppages in play halted the away sides rhythm somewhat, and Sutton reminded Wolves of their own threat through Michelle McCormack and then Lois Jefferies.
McNamara’s side, though, stepped up their pursuit of an opening goal before the break.
Merrick saw a brilliant effort bounce off the woodwork for a third time after a strong hand from Locke before a rash moment from the goalkeeper turned the game on its head.
Locke was dispossessed by Cross in her own area and subsequently dragged the striker down with the goal open.
The Sutton shot-stopper saw red, as Morphet stepped up to slot home and give Wolves a narrow lead at the break.
Half-time | Sutton Coldfield Town 0-1 Wolves Women
The visitors came out quickly and went close to doubling their lead. Morphet crossed to the back post for George whose volleyed effort was scrambled to safety by Neve Jones.
Cross went through on goal moments later, but Jones reacted well to push the ball away to safety once more.
Though a second goal looked certain for Wolves, the Royals stayed in the game and could’ve equalised before the hour mark, but Jefferies’ header was held onto by Bec Thomas.
McNamara made a triple change with 25 minutes to play as Hannah Fryer, Ellie Wilson and Destiney Toussaint were introduced, and it was the latter who almost made an instant impact.
Wilson touched the loose ball away from Jones, but Toussaint could only lift over the crossbar from 10 yards out.
The attacker was involved again when her cross picked out George, whose prodded effort bounced off the upright.
Merrick unleashed another long-range effort as Wolves continued their search for a second, but Jones stood strong to keep frustrating the away side.
In the dying moments, Sophie Bramford latched onto Toussaint’s cross, but for the fifth time in the match, the ball rebounded off the woodwork.
Sutton stayed in the tie until the last minute, but Wolves emerged narrow winners and progressed into the next round.
Full-time | Sutton Coldfield Town 0-1 Wolves Women
NEXT THREE
- West Bromwich Albion (A) 22nd October
- Nottingham Forest (A) 5th November
- Liverpool Feds (H) 3rd December
TEAMS
Sutton Coldfield | Locke, Bourton (Jefferies 15), Newell, Murphy (Kingston 85), Evans, Finn, Handy, Farquharson (Lampitt 60), Civil (Woolston 73), McCormack (Jones 50), Smith.
Wolves | Thomas, Morphet, E. Cross (Fryer 64), George, Will, J. Cross (Wilson 64), Johnson, Fergusson (Toussaint 64), Denham, Bramford (Watters), Merrick.
Subs not used | Marriott.
Report by Joe Dixon
