Wolves reached the semi-finals of the Birmingham County Cup after beating a resilient Stourbridge LFC side on penalties.
Trailing at the break, Jade Cross was lifted from the bench to send the tie to penalties, where Dan McNamara’s side prevailed.
Alice Keitley had the first chance when she hit the post from close range with less than ten minutes played.
However, just before half-time, Stourbridge took the lead. Dani Ranger found herself with space inside the box and slotted the ball past Millie Conod from 12 yards.
The prolific Cross was introduced at the break and levelled within two minutes with her first touch of the game.
From there, the second-half lacked chances, as Stourbridge showed great character to soak up wave upon wave of Wolves pressure and take the game to penalties.
Wolves finished 4-2 winners in the shootout, with 16-year-old Conod producing a vital save to win the game.
QUOTES
McNamara was full of praise for Stourbridge after the game: “Firstly, I want to give full credit to Stourbridge for their performance today. They came with a game plan, took the lead and, even when they conceded, showed the resolve not to concede another and kept it at 1-1.
“We were not at the races today at all, our finishing was poor, and we could have scored more, but that does not take away from Stourbridge’s performance.”
When asked about the penalty shootout, McNamara said: “It’s never a nice way to end the game, but I was happy for Millie (Conod) in goal. We had two goalkeepers injured in the warm up this morning, between 9am and 1pm, so I called Millie back from Crewe. She came back at short notice and saved a penalty at just 16 which is all obviously really pleasing and she’s got a bright future.”
COMING UP
Wolves return to league action as they welcome Burton Albion Ladies to the CKW Stadium next Sunday, 2pm kick off.
NEXT FIVE
02/02/20: Burton Albion (H)
09/02/20: Leicester United (A)
19/02/20: The New Saints (H)
23/02/20: Leafield Athletic (H)
08/03/20: Doncaster Rovers Belles (A)
TEAMS
Wolves: Conod, Widdal, Keitley (J Cross 45), Price, Haynes, E Cross, Dicken (Keitley 86), Bramford, Brunton (Palmer 45’), Jennings, Wilson (Barnett 45).
Unused subs: Anslow, Jones.
Stourbridge: Preston, Thacker, Butcher, Turvey, Moran, Murphy, Lawrence, Bown, Ranger, Aldred, Summers.
Unused subs: Plimmer, Howell, A White, L White, Clayton, Taylor.
