Bolton Wanderers Women made it six points from six on Wednesday night, beating Bury 1-0 in front of more than 350 supporters at their new home.
Tom Cunniff’s side are back at The Ginge Power Stadium on Sunday to face West Didsbury and Chorlton, and everyone is welcome to just turn up and pay on the gate.
It was billed as a tough test and it played out that way. Bury arrived in Daisy Hill off the back of a strong opening to the campaign, with a squad and a coach Cunniff expects to be challenging near the top all year. Wanderers found a way through anyway.
“They will finish high this season and they are someone we expect to compete against all season,” Cunniff said. “They have got some really good players and a good coach. But we knew that if we played our game, we could win it.
“It was not the perfect performance in terms of how we want to play football. We had to go long a few more times than we usually do. But at this stage, when you have got back-to-back games, we just want to win them, get the three points and get through this run. Then we focus on the performances after that.”
That willingness to change shape and change tempo is becoming a feature of this side rather than a compromise.
“We know at this level we are going to have to win games in different ways, probably weekly,” Cunniff said. “There are some really tough games and there are teams who come with a game plan to try and outsmart you physically. So we have to have players who can do both, and I think we showed that. The players stood up to it again in tough conditions, and the ones coming off the bench added an element to what we are trying to achieve here.”
Lily strikes again
The goal arrived before half time and it came from a familiar source. Lily Weston, on the scoresheet at Darwen on Sunday, made it two in two with a finish of real quality.
“Not bad for a left back,” Cunniff smiled. “We know how good Lily is defensively, but we also know how good she is from an attacking point of view. She loves to get involved and she is careful in those areas. We see it in training every day that she is more than capable of scoring goals, so getting her into those high positions is part of our plan at times.”
A clean sheet built on a plan
Bury arrived with a serious threat from corners, having scored seven from them in their opening-day win over Tranmere. Wanderers went in with an answer and they kept it right through to the final whistle.
“Ali Cook at centre back is a really good player, so we did have a bit of a plan for it,” Cunniff said. “People might have noticed it. Obviously it stopped it, because we got the clean sheet. We could not have asked for more.”
Annabelle White marshalled it all from her goal and her claim from the last corner of the night, with Bury’s own goalkeeper up in the box hunting an equaliser, settled the whole scene.
“We are really happy with the whole team, but the defence looks solid,” Cunniff said. “Annabelle leads it unbelievably well. Lucy Weir led really well as captain, and I thought Maddie (Leigh) was superb at centre back. She turned 17 two days ago, so there is a really exciting future there.
“One of the things we said at half time was that a clean sheet wins this game, because we had managed to get the goal before the break. The subs we made were not negative subs. We did not send players on and tell them to defend. We knew they would add something from set pieces and against long balls later on, and the decision proved right in the end.”
For all Bury’s late pressure, this was a comfortable 1-0. Wanderers had the better of the game and had chances to settle it long before the closing exchanges“They started well, and sometimes that is okay,” Cunniff said. “We are a tight team. We do not need to score in the first five minutes. It is a 90-minute game. Then there were parts where we were really dominant. In the first 15 minutes of the second half we were through four or five times. If a couple of them go in, it is a completely different game.
“The pitch was bobbly and it was wet, so the ball was skidding off and running away, and the short passes were bobbling up. You have to adapt to that, and I think we did. There were good times in terms of good football, and there were times where we just had to dig in and get the job done. We have done it again.”
The first night at the new home
Over 350 supporters came through the gate for the first competitive game at The Ginge Power Stadium, and the noise they made did not go unnoticed. Chairman Sharon Brittan was among them, alongside Chief Executive Officer David Ray and Sporting Director Fergal Harkin.
“Daisy Hill have been brilliant with us, even after games in the clubhouse,” Cunniff said. “It is helping us build a proper community there, and they are looking forward to us being back on Sunday.
“The attendances are higher this season because we are back in Bolton, in a place full of Bolton fans, where people can walk to the ground or make a short trip by car. The atmosphere was amazing. Sharon being there adds even more to that community feel, because on nights like that it feels like one club.”
The head coach was quick to credit the volunteers who made the evening happen.
“We cannot do it without them. We literally cannot do it without them,” he said. “We always thank them for that and hopefully we repay them with the season we are having, and hopefully by the end of it we can lift the trophy.”
Sunday: West Didsbury and Chorlton
Three games in a week continues on Sunday, with West Didsbury and Chorlton the visitors. They arrive in form, having taken a clean-sheet win in midweek, and having gone close against a Mancunian Unity side Cunniff rates highly at this level.
“They will be organised,” he said. “They had a very unlucky result against Unity, and Unity are an amazing team for this level, and then a win and a clean sheet. They have obviously done well in the summer, they are playing well and the coach has done very well.
“But we are going into it with our own game plan. We are not worrying too much about the opposition. We know their strengths, but we are concentrating on our own.”
Wanderers beat West Didsbury twice last season, though the home meeting finished 1-0 and told its own story about how tight these games can be. There is an extra edge for one player in particular. Naomi Lawrence joined Wanderers from West Didsbury over the summer, came off the bench against Bury and looked a real outlet down the flank.
“Naomi is still building her minutes up,” Cunniff said. “She will be massively up for it.”
With the fixtures coming thick and fast over the next fortnight, changes are coming, and the head coach sees that as a strength rather than a problem.
“We will rotate, and that is why we have got such an amazing squad. I think this squad will win the league, not the team,” he said. “It is a good headache. It is brilliant for me, because if injuries happen we are always covered. The hard part is the frustration for players who are not playing week in, week out. But we have got a group who have bought into the idea that a squad wins the league, and everyone wants to be in Tier 4 this time next year.
“You saw it on Wednesday. There were players who were injured, and one who was not even selected in the squad, stood next to the bench supporting the team and in the changing room afterwards. It shows how much people want to play for Bolton. Wearing that badge should be an honour, and we have got a squad who believe that and who appreciate everything the club does for us. We want to repay that by winning the league.”
Matchday information
Bolton Wanderers Women v West Didsbury and Chorlton, The Ginge Power Stadium, Daisy Hill, Sunday 23 August, kick-off 2pm
Admission
There is no need to book. It is pay on the gate at £6 for adults and £3 for under-16s and under-12s go free when accompanied by a full-paying adult.
Season tickets are also still available at £50, covering every home league fixture this season.
Getting there
The Ginge Power Stadium, St James Street, Daisy Hill, Bolton, BL5 2EB.
By car. There is no parking at the ground. Please park on Lower Leigh Road (B5235) rather than St James Street, and respect our neighbours by keeping driveways clear. From Lower Leigh Road, the footpath alongside Casson Fold nursery is mostly lined by trees and brings you out on St James Street. Turn left at the end of the path and the driveway up to the ground is a few yards away.
By train. Daisy Hill station is around a 15-minute walk from the ground and is served by trains from Manchester Victoria and Wigan Wallgate
By bus. Two routes serve Daisy Hill, the 516 (Horwich to Leigh) and the 607 (Bolton to Wigan). Stops are adjacent to and opposite St James’s Church, a two-minute walk from the ground
Bring the family, fill the stands and get behind the gorls.