Nottingham Forest 2 (Manders pen 43, Worsey 82) Wolves 0
Wolves Women’s three-match unbeaten run came to an end at Grange Park as Nottingham Forest scored in each half to claim the three points.
The Old Gold played the majority of the game with 10 players after Tammi George was shown a second yellow card inside 20 minutes as referee Katherine Allen sent off the midfielder.
It was an uphill battle from there on in, and the home side took the lead through a spot kick which Holly Manders converted before Louanne Worsey confirmed the win for Forest after volleying home from inside the box on 82 minutes.
Wolves had the first opportunity of the afternoon from a Merrick Will free-kick from 25 yards out. The set-piece was played short to Anna Morphet out wide, who then drilled in a low cross into the box, but a Forest defender managed to clear. However, the clearance found Merrick again on the edge of the box, who attempted a long shot, but her effort went a whisker wide of the post.
The game took an unexpected turn in the 20th minute when George was shown a second yellow. The midfielder was first booked in the 16th minute for a late foul on Forest goalkeeper Emily Batty, before George's second was shown four minutes later for an off-the-ball incident.
Just before the half-hour mark, referee Allen awarded Forest a penalty after Ellie Wilson brought down Charlotte Greengrass in the area. Manders took the spot kick and converted to put the 11 players of Forest a goal to the good.
Wolves came close to a leveller just before the break as Amber Hughes cut inside from the right and laid it off to Merrick in the box, whose shot was claimed by Batty.
Half-time | Nottingham Forest 1-0 Wolves
Minutes into the second half, the home side nearly doubled their lead from a quick passage of play. The ball arrived at the feet of Natalie Johnson on the left flank, who sent in a low driven cross to Greengrass in the heart of the box, but her goalward shot went wide.
It wasn't long after Wolves had their first opportunity of the second period when Wilson stood up a floating cross to Hughes, who in the box managed to get a touch on the ball and send it goalward, but Batty managed to claim.
The Old Gold were awarded a free-kick from 25 yards out with just under 15 minutes remaining. Merrick took charge of the opportunity and struck a superb effort off the post, much to the frustration of the visitors as the ball agonisingly evaded hitting the back of the net.
That appeared to be that, but with just under 10 minutes remaining, the home side doubled their advantage. Worsey received a cross into the box and, from close range, volleyed home to confirm the home side's victory.
Full-time | Nottingham Forest 2-0 Wolves
NEXT THREE
- Stourbridge (H) - FA Cup - 12th November
- Boldmere (H/Compton) – County Cup - 19th November
- Liverpool Feds (H) - 3rd December
TEAMS
Nottingham Forest | Batty, Harkin, Johnson, Moncaster (Domingo 64), Manders, Worsey, Green, Thomas, Anderson, Greengrass (Reynolds 82), Cowie.
Unused subs | Cook, O’Neill, Aguirre.
Wolves | Turner, Wilson, Morphet, George, Will (Holmes 79), Hughes (Cairns 82), Johnson, Fergusson (J. Cross 68), Roberts, Bramford, Merrick.
Unused subs | E. Cross, Fryer.
Report by Jordan Preece
