Wolves 3 (Merrick 15, Toussaint 44, J. Cross 90+6) Liverpool Feds 0
A trio of goal scorers secured Wolves Women a 3-0 win against Liverpool Feds at the New Bucks Head and provided the Old Gold with their first three points of 2024 in league action.
It only took Wolves 15 minutes to find the opener when Beth Merrick unleashed a strike from 25 yards out, which hit the underneath of the crossbar and rippled into the back of the net.
The second came in the final minute of the first half when Destiney Toussaint poked home from an Anna Morphet corner, before Wolves wrapped the scoring up in second half added time through Jade Cross, who slotted into the bottom corner from inside the danger area.
The first chance of the afternoon came the way of the visitors inside the opening two minutes when Aleesha Collins sprayed a ball across the face of goal to Paige Cole at the back post, whose effort went wide.
Wolves broke the deadlock in the 15th minute after a failed Rachel Norney goal kick fell to Merrick. From 25 yards out, she sent a long-range strike which looped over the goalkeeper and into the back of the net.
Liverpool Feds went close to pulling level just past the 20-minute mark when a Collins whipped corner reached Cole at the near post, but her goalward shot went wide.
Halfway through the first period, the Old Gold nearly doubled their advantage when Toussaint picked the ball up wide before sliding in a low cross to Tammi George, whose effort was deflected out for a corner.
Just past the half-hour mark, George was in the thick of the action once again when she got on the end of a Merrick Will drilled cross into the centre of the box, but the midfielder couldn't quite guide it past Norney.
With just a minute remaining in the first half, Wolves increased their lead. Morphet was the architect with a corner kick to the back post which Toussaint managed to poke home.
Half-time | Wolves 2–0 Liverpool Feds
Dan McNamara looked to the bench at half-time, with Layla Banaras coming on for Summer Holmes, who started after a lengthy layoff through injury.
Minutes before the hour mark, the away side went close to pulling a goal back when Cole fed a through ball into Beth Donoghue in the danger zone, but she couldn't guide her shot on target.
Feds had another opportunity in the 62nd minute when Cole found space in the middle of the park and unleashed an effort from 25 yards out, but it whistled over the bar.
Merrick picked the ball up inside the box with under 20 minutes remaining and sent a powerful strike goalward. The keeper was off her line, but a defender managed to guide it out of play.
The Old Gold had another effort to get a third with under five minutes remaining when Merrick floated a cross to Morphet at the near post, but Norney just about cleared away the captain's headed effort.
However, substitute J. Cross found the back of the net right at the death. The move originated from a mishap by an opposition defender. The striker then picked up the ball just outside the box and beat a defender before slotting the ball into the bottom corner to secure the Old Gold's first league win of 2024.
Full-time | Wolves 3–0 Liverpool Feds
NEXT THREE
10/03/24 – Nottingham Forest (H)
17/03/24 – Newcastle United (H)
24/03/24 – West Brom (H)
TEAMS
Wolves | Thomas, Wilson (Fryer 79), Morphet, George (Fergusson 79), Will (J. Cross 62), Hughes (Bramford 62), Holmes (Banaras 46), Johnson, Toussaint, Roberts, Merrick.
Liverpool Feds | Norney, Thompson, Fletcher, Donoghue, Pope, Cole, Anderson, Walsh, Deering, Johnson, Collins.
Subs | Seagreaves, Parry, Guy, Richardson.
Report by Jordan Preece
