Wolves 4 (Quigley 52, Loydon 63, Greengrass 67, Toussaint 87) Sporting Khalsa 0
Wolves Women were comfortable winners over Sporting Khalsa Women at the SEAH Stadium on Wednesday evening.
Despite a goalless first 45 minutes, four second-half goals helped Wolves overcome the visitors in a dominant performance, which earnt Dan McNamara's side three valuable points in their battle at the top of the FAWNL Northern Premier Division.
Four days after hosting a monumental Adobe Women’s FA Cup fifth round tie against Manchester United Women, Wolves were back at home and McNamara rotated his squad, handing Lily Simkin her first start in Old Gold while making five other changes to the starting 11 who played four days previously.
The opening exchanges were quiet but Wolves registered the first effort on target through Abi Loydon. Beth Merrick advanced the ball into the left side of the penalty area before finding Loydon with a cut-back, she struck towards goal but her effort was saved by Ellie Stocking.
Wolves started brightly, but Khalsa soon grew into the game and called Charlotte Clarke in the Wolves net into action. Firstly, Layla Kennerly played a ball over the top of Wolves’ defence in search of Maia Clark, she beat her marker to the ball and tested Clarke with a strong effort, but she superbly turned the ball over the bar to prevent the opener.
Clarke denied another Khalsa strike just moments later when Kennerly broke free from a Wolves corner, despite a two-on-one situation, she opted for the shot, but Clarke was equal to it.
After the home side weathered the mini Khalsa storm, they pushed forward again with more pressure but failed to create a clear-cut opportunity. In the 33rd minute, Amber Hughes came close after a clever layoff inside the area from Tammi George, but her awkward, bouncing effort veered off target.
Wolves should have opened the scoring on the stroke of half-time, hitting the crossbar twice. First, Hughes’ chance missed the mark after she got on the end of a scramble in the penalty area, only for it to fall to Racheal Quigley who could only hit the crossbar from close-range.
Moments later, Merrick hit the corner of the woodwork with a ferocious strike. She cut inside onto her preferred right foot and weaved past three defenders before firing goalwards, which was inches away from bulging the net.
Half-time | Wolves 0-0 Khalsa
McNamara’s half-time encouragement proved to have an affect on his side as they broke the deadlock just seven minutes into the second half. After a scramble in the penalty area, Hughes’ stab at goal was cleared off the line, only for it to fall to Quigley who was in the right place at the right time to tap into an unguarded net.
The hosts wanted more and doubled their lead in the 63rd minute through Loydon. Hughes claimed the assist but it was a lovely team move that ended with her delicate layoff to Loydon, allowing her to unleash an effort from outside the box that found the top corner.
Two became three just four minutes later when it took substitute Charlotte Greengrass just two minutes to stamp her mark on the match. She received the ball inside the area and curled an effort past Stocking to extend Wolves’ lead.
The second half saw fewer chances for Wolves than the first half did, but their clinical finishing shone through. The defence also stood strong as they limited Khalsa to few chances, failing to test Clarke in the second half.
Wolves ceased to let up and added another to their advantage in the 88th minute through Destiney Toussaint. Becky Anderson delivered a smart free-kick towards Quigley, whose clever flick led to Toussaint lifting the ball over Stocking to make it four.
Despite gunning for more goals, the scoring finished at four and Wolves earnt themselves three crucial points. McNamara’s side will prepare for a top of the table clash at the City Ground to face Nottingham Forest Women this Sunday.
Full-time | Wolves 4-0 Khalsa
LINEUPS
Wolves | Clarke, Morphet (Roberts 69), Holmes, Simkin, George (Anderson 69), J. Cross, Loydon, Hughes (Greengrass 65), Quigley, Jenner (Smith 80), Merrick (Toussaint 65).
Subs not used | MacPhail, Denham.
Khalsa | Stocking, Thompson-Moulding, Smith (Shore 80), Cann, Clark, Green, Davies (Philpott 60), Kennerly, Winters (Hughes 44), Wickett, Szymkowiak.
Subs not used | Smith, Russell-Cartwright, Bott, Wright.
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Report by Callum Greybanks
