Wolves Women have wasted no time in their promotion hunt with the way they’ve started this season so far. With a strong run of league performances, points picked up in the cup, and several summer signings proving their quality, Dan McNamara’s side look like they will be promotion contenders once again. The early weeks have showcased a squad blending resilience with fresh energy — and the manager believes there’s plenty more to come.
Setting the pace in the league
The squad have only played three league games so far but have faced some tough opposition including Burnley and Rugby Borough.
On the opening day of the season McNamara’s side cruised past Liverpool Feds away from home with a 4-0 win to get off to a flyer. The second game at home to Burnley (who will no doubt be another side fighting for promotion come April/May next year) was a tough hard fought draw where Dan was really impressed with his sides grit and determination. The most entertaining game so far came away against Rugby Borough, Wolves were cruising and were 3-0 up, however, a late fight back from Rugby saw them nearly scrape a draw but the girls dug deep and saw out the victory.
So they are unbeaten in three games, sit on 7 points out of a possible 9 and are joint top of the table with Burnley and Hull (who they face in just over a week!). A standout performer in the opening few games has to be Amber Hughes, she has scored three goals, including a brace against Rugby but her all round play has been outstanding.
Chasing Glory on Two Fronts
Wolves’ other game in August saw them face off against Stoke City in the National League Cup. Charlotte Greengrass got her side off to a perfect start putting them 1-0 up, but once again Amber Hughes stole the headlines as in the 93rd minute (after Stoke had earlier equalised) she scored the winner and sealed all three points for McNamara’s side to get them off to a flyer in the cup too.
Their most recent game from the weekend saw them face off against Manchester United PGA, despite going a goal down in the game, the team were resilient, dug deep and found a way to win 3-1 in the end.
New Blood, Same Wolves Bite
The summer was definitely one of change at Wolves Women with some long serving players leaving, and some great new additions joining the squad. In the early stages all the new signings have impressed and seem to have settled in well so far.
The most noticeable moment from a new signing comes in the form of Sareet Binning, the 16 year old became one of the youngest ever players at 16 years and 5 days to make their debut for Wolves against Man Utd PGA at the weekend. A great achievement for her since signing on a dual registration from Leicester.
Midfielder Amy Sims has also really impressed since signing from Nottingham Forest, her performances have been top quality and her driving run forward and superb strike against Rugby was unbelievable.
From the Dugout: Belief and Ambition
“I can comfortably say this is the most talented group of players I’ve had since I came to Wolves and lets hope we can continue with the great form and keep doing good things.”
DAN MCNAMARA
On his sides unbeaten start to the season so far, McNamara said:
“It’s been an unbelievable start, when the fixtures came out we looked at them and quickly realised it was going to be a very very tough start, within the first month we are playing the top four or five clubs in the northern league so it was always going to be tough on paper.
“The girls have risen to the challenge fantastically well, we started with a dominant performance over Liverpool Feds, the new girls really embedded themselves in quickly. We then faced arguably the best team in the league in Burnley with all their new signings this summer we knew we were in for a challenge, but I thought we were fantastic in that game, it was probably a different side to this Wolves team, we were really good without the ball, we didn’t have a lot of ball in all honesty but we probably should’ve won the game as we had two of the most clear cut chances.
“We then of course knew Rugby Borough away was going to be tough, but that game was just about getting a result away from home. So all round it’s been an amazing start for us, we as coaches and managers are delighted with what the girls have been doing and hopefully we can continue this good form into the next run of games which will see us face more tough opposition in Middlesbrough and Hull City, but we must do well and fight in those games.”
Talking about some of the new signings and how they’ve settled in and adapted to the Wolves way, McNamara added:
“The new signings have all been fantastic, they’ve all embedded themselves into the group really well over the course of the last 2 months or so.
“I think they have all shown their quality, Louanne Worsey has been a real standout as well as Georgia Marshall and Amy Sims with goals and commanding performances. We are really looking forward now to seeing Chloe Williams and Anna Grey come into the fold over the next few weeks after whats been a difficult start for them due to a lack of pre season.
“Alex Brooks has come in and has been absolutely unbelievable, she joined us late so we had to make sure she was ready for what we wanted her to do, but she’s been brilliant. But they’re all great people and they’ve all added something into what was already a really strong group anyway.
“I can comfortably say this is the most talented group of players I’ve had since I came to Wolves and lets hope we can continue with the great form and keep doing good things.”
Wolves Women have narrowly missed out on promotion to the Women’s Championship (WSL2) for the last 3-4 years now, but with this talented group of players as well as the resilience and grit, can they finally go all the way and get that long deserved promotion. Here’s Dans thoughts…
“I’ve always got full trust in the girls, always have done, always will. They are a fantastic group and we’ve shown over the last few years we are always in and amongst it in terms of promotion. We are always ready to compete and fight for it, and especially with the opportunity of a second promotional place this year it’s vitally important we continue with our good form and I fully believe and trust that we’ve got what it takes to get into the WSL2.
“It’s been a long 8 years striving for this goal, and I’m really hoping this year can be the one where we put the cherry on top of the cake and get that illusive promotion, which has been the dream since we started this journey 8 years ago.”
Eyes Forward, Targets Clear
As Dan said, Wolves have another tough couple of games coming up in the league, they face Middlesbrough at home on Sunday before facing Hull City away a week later.
The target/main goal is of course to get that illusive promotion that they’ve craved for 8 years however, as Dan said the girls have to keep putting in great performances, developing together as a squad and fight for every point.
All information and tickets for the home fixture on Sunday against Middlesbrough can be purchased here.
Ready to Roar
It’s still early days yet, but 7 points out of a possible 9 and with all the new signings settling in and performing well, Dan McNamara’s Wolves Women side has shown they are ready to roar and the blend of grit and freshness has set the tone for a campaign full of promise. Fans should be getting excited this season thats for certain.
I’m Ashlea Follows, an aspiring sports journalist in the making. I’ve completed two degrees at university, Sports Journalism and a masters in Data Journalism. I’m very passionate about the womens game right from the WSL down to grassroots level, my biggest aim is to have a job reporting on womens football for a big organisation or a particular club one day! Another thing about me that’s good to know is I’m a big wolves fan both the mens and womens team☺️