Wolves Women head coach Dan McNamara admits that losing out on the title on goal difference is tough to take, but has praised his group of players following another season battling at the top.
Despite final day victory at Brighouse Town, the old gold were forced to settle for second with Nottingham Forest matching their 3-0 victory to clinch the title by the narrowest of margins. A proud McNamara gave his assessment of the campaign, before switching his full focus to next Tuesday’s Birmingham County Cup final against Stourbridge at Molineux.
On narrowly missing out on the title
“I’m really proud of them. I said if you’re going to lose the league title then lose it on goal difference and they’ve done that.
“It’s tough to take when you put so much into, when the girls have put so much into it, and when the staff have put so much into it. We drove up here knowing it was an uphill challenge, but it’s still tough to take.
“It’s disappointing but based on today’s performance the girls were fantastic. Brighouse are a difficult team to play away from home, they’re no mugs as they proved against Nottingham Forest two weeks ago. We’ve come here, played the right way and we’ve done the basics really well. We got the three points and that’s a real credit to the girls, fantastic goal from Beth Merrick, with Naomi Bedeau’s not far behind.”
On the impact of an early goal
“We talked about trying to put pressure on from the start, we wanted to make sure the pressure was on Nottingham Forest. We mentioned getting a goal early on, starting quick and the girls did that. They started fast and got the goal that settled us down. I thought we built into the game really well.
“We played through when we needed to, we played longer when we needed to, and they really imposed themselves on the game. Brighouse are an excellent side, their coach has them really well drilled, well organised, so to break them down three times is credit to the girls. It was a fantastic performance, and it is fantastic to add three more points onto the board.”
On Beth Merrick’s season
“I think she’s been excellent. I’m tough on all the players, my standards and the staff’s standards are high. Ultimately we expect high standards week in, week out and that’s not possible. Beth has had some tough moments throughout the season, but today you saw, what a goal and what a performance. She deserves that and I know she will have enjoyed it, fantastic from her.”
On the evolution over the last five years
“The league is done, but what I will say is five years ago we were stood in a huddle after we went down on goal difference. You look at us now and we’re stood in a group after losing the title on goal difference, but what came in-between was nothing short of unbelievable. That is what I’ve just said to the girls, the next five years, let’s make it as good and as memorable as the last five years.
On the County Cup final at Molineux
“We want to make sure we give this our full focus. It’s always great to be involved in a County Cup final. Stourbridge have won their league this year so it will be good to see where they are at and it’s at the golden palace. We want to lift a trophy there; it will be a great memory, so we’ll get ourselves ready this week and we’ll make sure we’re on form.”
