Stourbridge 2 (Horgan 38 Ashfield 62) Wolves 7 (Hughes 17, 22, 51, 57, Greengrass 28, 33, 90+5)
Wolves Women put seven past Stourbridge Women on derby day as both Amber Hughes and Charlotte Greengrass netted a hat-trick.
Two goals in each half for Hughes saw her complete a haul of goals, while Greengrass’ first half brace complemented with an injury-time goal saw Wolves win their first league game in 2025.
Wolves started lively and looked to take an advantage early in the game. They pushed the play to Beth Roberts’ left-hand side which was a constant pattern throughout the afternoon, and it was displayed twice in the opening 10 minutes.
First, Roberts picked out Hughes inside the six-yard box who found the net with a volleyed effort; however, the flag was up for offside. Later, Roberts found herself inside the penalty area herself but failed to find a Wolves shirt.
Wolves found the first goal when Beth Merrick picked up the ball on the edge of the area, she turned and struck towards goal with Harriett Grimshaw palming it into the path of Hughes, who turned in the rebound.
It took the away side just five minutes before doubling their lead, with Roberts involved again. The wing-back drove down the left side and whipped a wicked delivery into the path of Hughes who headed home for her second of the game.
Two became three just before the half-hour mark as Merrick won the ball on the centre circle, drove towards the Stourbridge box before playing an intended one-two with Hughes, however it was Greengrass who received the return pass and composed a finish past Grimshaw.
Wolves continued to dominate and added a fourth through a familiar goalscorer. Destiney Toussaint’s cross into the box tempted Grimshaw off her line, but Greengrass beat the Stourbridge shot stopper to the ball and headed into an unguarded net.
Despite the one-way traffic, the Glassgirls pulled one back just before half-time through Gwen Horgan’s superb long-range strike. Horgan collected a loose ball inside the Wolves half, then unleashed a powerful effort from just outside the penalty area, finding the top corner.
Half-time | Stourbridge 1-4 Wolves
The away side started the second half in similar dominant fashion and were rewarded early. Tammi George found Hughes with an excellent reverse pass to put Hughes through into the penalty area, she did well to get away from her marker with a clever touch before finishing past Grimshaw to complete her hat-trick.
Hughes added her fourth of the game with an excellent long-range strike. She touched the ball dead with a deft touch, before swivelling and striking an effort over Grimshaw and into the top corner.
Substitutions and injuries caused the game to slow down after Wolves’ fast start to the second half, but the home side refused to give up. Substitute Olivia Ashfield got herself on the scoresheet with a composed finish past Bec Thomas following a counter-attack.
McNamara sought to regain a foothold in the game and turned to his bench; his substitutes provided the boost as the final 20 minutes approached. Wolves began to keep Stourbridge at arm’s length and managed the clock with smart possession.
Greengrass completed her hat-trick by finishing a bouncing ball after a scramble in the penalty area. Shortly after, Toussaint and Tilly Fantom both received red cards and depleted both teams to ten players with only minutes remaining.
Wolves earnt a well-deserved derby day victory as they prepare to host Derby County Women next week at the SEAH Stadium.
Full-time | Stourbridge 2–7 Wolves
LINEUPS
Stourbridge | Grimshaw, Griffiths (Clearkin 68), Hadley, Walker (Bennett-Steele 68), Fantom, Clements, Horgan, Cartwright (Tague 60), Hood, Clark (Ashfield 60), Embley.
Subs not used | Ashton, Axten.
Wolves | Thomas, Morphet (Jenner 58), George (Holmes 58), Hughes (Quigley 68), Greengrass, Johnson, Anderson (Loydon 58), Toussaint, Roberts (Denham 65), Smith, Merrick.
Subs not used | Clarke, J. Cross, Hiscox.
NEXT FIVE
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Report by Callum Greybanks
