Dan McNamara has hailed the heroics of his Wolves Women side following their Adobe Women’s FA Cup progression.
The Old Gold turned the game on its head to complete a second half comeback at Championship outfit Reading, as Beth Merrick and Destiney Toussaint scored the all-important goals. Manager McNamara has heaped praise on his players, while lauding the unwavering support from the terraces which helped get the team over the line.
On progressing into the fifth round
“On the back of last week I said to them ‘go and represent the city well’ and that was my message to them at half-time.
“You come down here and you want to give a good account of not just the Northern Premier League, but Wolverhampton and I thought they were unbelievable today.
“The result’s the result and we deserve to go through, but I think the manner in which they’ve just performed – I thought we played them off the park from the first whistle to the very last.
“We went in at half-time really disappointed but that’s the step up in level. They have one chance and score, we have two or three and we can’t convert.
“Even at half-time, the girls felt we were going to win the game and we felt in control. I asked them to represent the city and the fans who have travelled all the way down here and I thought they’ve done that amazingly well.
“It was a difficult week after the result last weekend, but what a group. We keep making memories together.”
On playing without pressure
“This group, because of what they have achieved in the last few years, don’t play many games where there’s no pressure on them.
“Pressure’s a privilege and they’ve earned that privilege to feel under pressure most weeks. We came here today and said it’s a free hit, Reading have got everything to lose and we’ve got everything to gain.
“It’s not a smash and grab. I said to the girls beforehand that some of them should be thinking ‘I want to get in this Reading team, I want to get in this Crystal Palace team, I want to get in and amongst the Championship teams. Here’s an opportunity to put yourselves in the window.’
“They’ve done that. I thought Tammi George was unplayable for 60/70 minutes, Sophie Bramford was superb, Anna Morphet – what a captain’s performance. I could go through them all from one to 20 that have travelled today.
“What a weekend, what a group and we’ll be excited to see who we pull out in the fifth round.”
What a group, what a result 👊🏻⚽️
— Daniel McNamara (@MACCA04786) January 14, 2024
Thank you all the travelling fans today. Unbelievable support and the players heard you.
Let’s enjoy the draw tomorrow and see what challenge it’s next. @WolvesWomen pic.twitter.com/gSHKkOu6wj
On next week against West Brom
“Next week is now a completely different game. We’ve got to be professional against a well-organised side who are coming strong over the last few weeks.
“There’s no point coming down here and performing like this and our league season going off track. We want to get that back on track.
“We’ve got to keep the pressure on the front runners in Burnley and Newcastle, and we can only do that by putting points on the board.”
On the tremendous away support
“They probably outnumbered the Reading fans. I thought they were superb. We want them to help us out in difficult moments.
“At the end, you can hear them willing the ball into the net. We can hear them in every press and it gives you that little bit more and the players can feel it.
“Massive thanks to the fans. They were tremendous, as they are week in week out. I hope they’re proud of what the players have just gone out and executed and the way they performed today. That’s who they’re representing week in week out, and they’ve done them proud today.”
