Dan McNamara highlighted his side’s determination as being the key to Wolves Women’s 3-1 win over Manchester United Women PGA in the FAWNL Cup.
Goals from Charlotte Greengrass, Racheal Quigley and Amelia Hiscox completed a superb second-half turnaround at Compton Park, as Wolves continued their unbeaten start to the season and strengthened their position at the summit of their FAWNL Cup group.
McNamara touched on the late change of venue and the development of young players within the squad, as well as the team performance.
On the importance of the game going ahead
“We knew when we got to Telford it was wet this morning, so a massive thank you to Wayne [Lumbard] and the ground staff for opening up Compton and allowing us to bring it over here.
“There was a little bit of a faff, it was a bit different. Obviously, it was an hour late in regard to the food, and I think you could tell that in the first 20 minutes – I thought it took us a bit to get going.
“But today I thought it was about Man United PGA. They were excellent, I thought they were very good and probably surprised a few people here watching them.
“I thought they were outstanding in what they've just delivered so big credit to them because they caused real problems at times. Thankfully we've come through with three points and hopefully that should take us through now.”
On the development of young players
“Eight years ago I remember an eight-year-old Sareet Binning telling me she was going to play for Wolves Women and I never dreamt that I would still be here to give her that debut.
“She’s been fantastic, you've seen her England stuff going on in the background and she's obviously signed for Leicester PGA over the last few weeks and she's doing great stuff there, so it's brilliant for us.
“I think she'll go down as one of the youngest ever players to represent the club at 16 and five days old, but I thought she was excellent. It's not just about putting these players on the pitch and giving them their moment, it's about seeing whether they can compete at that level or not.
“Considering Sareet has got to go and compete against them with Leicester PGA, I thought she held her own and was outstanding in all her actions, she's very good without the ball.
“Same with Amelia Hiscox, who is obviously a bit older than Sareet but she's waiting for her opportunity and we're trying to give her some football so she can keep fit and stay ready for when we need her.
“But to also give her what she needs so she can keep developing, because they're two outstanding young players who I’m sure will go on to bring things here in the future, so overall it was brilliant to finish the game with them two on the pitch.
“Obviously, it was a heavily rotated team and that doesn't always help with the fluidity and the way you play, so I thought the girls gave a great account of themselves. We changed a few things at half-time and thankfully we got the win.”
On the performance
“I thought in the first half it was just the decision making that lacked, we were getting into some great areas, but again making the wrong decision, maybe it was a shot from distance or that extra pass that was needed in and around the penalty box.
“So, I thought decision making was a big part of the second half. We talked about it at half-time and I thought the girls responded.
“We gave them 10-15 minutes for them to give a response, and I felt the response came after we went 1-0 down, but we showed great determination to get back into it.
“I thought Jade Cross did some great stuff down the right-hand side, and Charlotte got her goal which she's delighted with. So overall a good day in the end, we wanted to get a game on and a win, and we've done that.”
