Loughborough Lightning 0 Wolves 5 (Greengrass 21 & 90+2, Merrick 45, Hughes 56, Quigley 66)
Wolves Women secured a hard-fought three points as they beat Loughborough Lightning 5-0 in the FA WNL.
Five goals from Beth Merrick, Amber Hughes, Racheal Quigley and a Charlotte Greengrass brace ensured the Old Gold ran out winners at the Loughborough University Stadium.
Wolves started quickly and almost took the lead within the first minute as Anna Morphet played a ball over the top of the hosts’ defence, which Greengrass dinked just over the crossbar.
Loughborough settled into the game and had an effort themselves in the 12th minute as Jess Collyer’s low-driven effort was collected by Alex Brooks.
With little to separate the two sides in the opening 20 minutes, the Old Gold took the lead soon after.
Hughes carried the ball down the wing and eventually looked to find Greengrass in the box. Her pass was parried by Teresa Murphy, with Greengrass tapping into the net from close range.
Few clear chances followed until the break, but just before the interval, Merrick curled a long-range effort past Murphy to double Wolves’ lead.
Half Time | Loughborough 0-2 Wolves
Dan McNamara’s side began the second half as they ended the first. Merrick looked to extend the lead but had a shot well saved by Murphy to keep the score as it was.
Just moments later, Wolves extended their lead through a great piece of skill from Hughes. The forward drove at the hosts’ defence before cutting inside and firing a powerful effort into the bottom corner.
With just under 25 minutes to go, substitute Quigley found the net just moments after coming on. The forward pounced on a loose ball to fire home the Old Gold’s fourth of the game.
As the game entered its closing stages, Casey Howe almost added to the goals after a brilliant pass by Hughes. However, she fired the ball just wide of Murphy’s near post.
In stoppage time, Greengrass secured her brace after tapping home from close range in what turned out to be the last major attack of the game.
Full Time | Loughborough 0-5 Wolves
Loughborough | Murphy, Hewitt, Cotton, Collyer (Wright 80), Hogg, Stringer (Mitchell 61), Szczech, Coutts (Jarowicki 57), Greenwood (Eze 80), Harris, Steggles (Higginbottom 70)
Unused Subs | Barker, Jacobs
Wolves | Brooks, Morphet, Marshall, George (Howe 61), Loydon (Williams 73), Hughes, Greengrass, Jenner (Harkin 46), Roberts (Anderson 61), Merrick, Worsey (Quigley 61)
Unused Subs | Stocking, Johnson
