Wolves Women 1 (Hughes 55) Nottingham Forest 6 (Longhurst 24, Johnson 34, 36, 52, Domingo 41, Olding 85)
Wolves Women tasted defeat for the first time in the FA Women’s National League this season after a difficult afternoon against Nottingham Forest.
A clinical Forest display saw them put the Old Gold to the sword as Mel Johnson netted an 18-minute hat-trick, with the visitors five up after just 52 minutes.
Amber Hughes pulled one back for Wolves but, by then, the game was over and substitute Hollie Olding then added a sixth late on at the SEAH Stadium.
Dan McNamara made five changes to the team that faced Stoke City in midweek, with Charlotte Greengrass and Becky Anderson starting against their former club and Beth Merrick named on the bench following her return to the club on Friday. Captain Anna Morphet missed out through suspension, while Katie Johnson led the team in the absence of the defender.
Both sides shared possession of the ball in the opening 20 minutes and despite Wolves looking dangerous on the counter-attack, they were unable to find an opener.
The visitors took the lead from a corner four minutes later following a scramble in the box which saw Kate Longhurst smash the ball home from a few yards out.
10 minutes after breaking the deadlock, Forest’s Johnson scored two goals in quick succession for the Reds - her first goal was lobbed over the head of Bec Thomas after Wolves had lost possession and her second was a clever finish from close range.
Carly Davies’ side scored a fourth through Sophie Domingo, however the Old Gold continued to show fight and came close through Tammi George who narrowly missed the target following a surging run and cross from Greengrass.
Half-time | Wolves 0-4 Nottingham Forest
Shortly after the interval, Johnson completed her hat-trick with a curled effort into the top corner in the 52nd minute before, three minutes later, Wolves found a response when Hughes headed home from a Josie Smith cross.
Momentum slowly started to shift towards the hosts, however their chances on goal were limited against a very organised Forest side.
After a courageous battle from Wolves, Forest finished the game off with a sixth goal, this time from substitute Olding who found the top corner from inside the area.
Wolves will look ahead and prepare for their second away fixture of the season, with a trip to Turf Moor next Sunday to face Burnley.
Full-time | Wolves 1-6 Nottingham Forest
LINE UPS
Wolves | Thomas, Smith, Johnson, Jenner, Roberts (Banaras 86), Holmes (Loydon 60), Anderson, George (Fryer 86), Greengrass, Hughes (Toussaint 60), J. Cross (Merrick 60).
Subs not used | Denham, Elbro.
Nottingham Forest | Batty, Harkin, N. Johnson, Longhurst (Sims 60), Domingo, M. Johnson (Galloway 86), Wellings (Dungate 79), Green, Thomas, Hamilton, Chandarana
(Olding 79).
Subs not used | Ferguson, Manders, James.
NEXT FIVE
8/09/2024 Burnley (A) FAWNL Northern Premier Division
15/09/2024 Hull City (H) FAWNL Northern Premier Division
22/09/2024 Stoke City (A) FAWNL Northern Premier Division
25/09/2024 Sporting Khalsa (A) FAWNL Northern Premier Division
6/10/2024 Rugby Borough (H) FAWNL Northern Premier Division
Report by Thomas Gibson
