Hi everyone. It’s great to be writing again for the Express & Star ahead of our match with Loughborough Lightning on Sunday. With it being the men’s international break, it would be fantastic to see as many Wolves fans as possible at Telford — perhaps even some trying women’s football for the first time.
Since my last column a few weeks ago, ahead of our Women’s FA Cup first-round tie with Rugby Borough, it’s been a really positive period for us here at Wolves Women. We came through that match, albeit with a late scare, to progress to the second round, and since then we’ve won a local derby and made two long away trips in both league and cup competitions.
Rugby gave us a real challenge, but we dug deep to win 2-1, before a midweek outing where we beat Sporting Khalsa 4-1. The highlight of that game was undoubtedly an unbelievable strike from Abbi Jenner, who took a couple of strides over the halfway line before unleashing a superb effort into the top corner. That could well have the Goal of the Season award wrapped up already - it’s only November!
Next, we faced a tough away trip to Halifax. We knew it would be a challenge, especially after they’d taken points off Burnley - our main title rivals - just a few weeks earlier. On a tight artificial pitch against a determined side, we set the tone early with two quick goals. The only disappointment, really, was that we couldn’t extend our 2-0 lead.
Wolves celebrate a goal during the FAWNL Northern Premier Division match at Halifax (Photo by Morgan Harlow - WWFC/Wolves via Getty Images)
This past week has tested the squad with those long journeys, but the girls have shown fantastic character. We were delighted to book our place in the FA WNL Cup quarter-finals with a 3-0 win away at AFC Sudbury. They might be a division below, but they certainly caused us a few problems, so it was great to get through. Our reward is a home draw against West Brom in the last eight - a tasty Black Country Derby to look forward to in January!
This weekend’s clash with Loughborough Lightning comes at a perfect time to welcome new supporters. With the men’s team not in action, we’ve launched our “Prem On Hold, Paint the SEAH Old Gold” campaign to boost attendances at Telford and fill the stands with Wolves colours. Tickets are just £5 for adults and £3 for kids — a great chance to give women’s football a go and show your support. Loughborough picked up a good point away at Stoke last weekend, so we’ll need all the backing we can get.
I will write more on this in next week’s column but looking ahead, next week brings a huge moment for Wolves Women. Our Women’s FA Cup second-round tie against Stoke - again at Telford - has been selected for live broadcast on TNT Sports on Friday night. It’s the first time we’ve ever been shown live on national television, and it’s a golden opportunity to showcase everything we stand for as a football club. Your support will mean the world to us.
Thanks as always for your fantastic support.
**Macca**