Bolton Wanderers Women made it four wins from four with a 4-0 victory at Preston North End on Wednesday night, a display Tom Cunniff rates as their best of the season so far. FC St Helens visit The Ginge Power Stadium on Sunday.
Fifteen days, four games, four wins. Whatever else this season brings, Bolton Wanderers Women have given themselves a start that demands to be taken seriously and Wednesday at Deepdale was the night the performance finally matched the results.
"I was just happy with how disciplined we played," Cunniff said. "We kept moving the ball the way we asked the team to. The last couple of games had become a bit back and forth late on and we wanted to be disciplined and dominate this one.
"We looked at where their weaknesses were and we knew that if we got the ball out wide, especially to our full backs, we would get up the pitch a lot quicker. We did that, and as the first half went on we started to dominate. Then we got the goal and it calmed us down."
The head coach was not interested in pretending it was flawless, but he was clear about what it represented.
"It was domination for 90 per cent of the game. There was a little spell where Preston were dangerous and we know we can do better than that," he said. "But for me it is the best performance so far in terms of what we asked from the team, dominating a game across 90 minutes and playing to our strengths instead of getting dragged into the opposition’s game."
Naomi Lawrence opened her account for the club with a composed finish and barely a minute later Wanderers had a second as Preston turned the ball into their own net under pressure.
Then came the goal of the night, and possibly of the head coach’s career at this level.
"It is genuinely one of the best goals I have seen in women’s football, because the build-up to it is something we have been working on," Cunniff said. "If you watch it back, we press one of their players and that part is planned. Then it is about getting the ball out wide and getting bodies into the box."
The ball broke into space, worked its way to the left and Molly Wood delivered. Lauren Sharples met it with a header that flew into the top corner.
"All of those things are amazing, but that header is special. I have not seen a header like that in women’s football," Cunniff said.
"She is so brave. She does it in training all the time. She is a very special player and we are lucky to have her. We had a really good angle of it and we could see it going into the top corner."
The fourth belonged to the captain. Lucy Walsh struck a ball in from around 35 yards that nobody managed to touch.
"Lucy is unbelievable at that, being able to switch play and being able to go longer if we need to," Cunniff said. "I am pretty sure she did not mean it, but she put it into a dangerous area, and if you put the ball into dangerous areas they have to deal with it somewhere. Sometimes you get an own goal, sometimes you get the second ball.
"The build-up was our counter press and shorter passes, which is exactly what we spoke about at half time, moving the ball so they cannot get into shape. Then we had bodies in the box. We are buzzing for Lucy, because she does not score many from centre back, and she has started the season so well."
Lucy has worn the armband in all four games, and Cunniff sees a player who has responded to a stronger squad by raising herself rather than settling.
"She has been amazing, in the dressing room and in training, and she is very well liked," he said. "She has stepped up again this summer because of the standard and the experience coming into the group. Last year she was one of the oldest, second or third. Now she is somewhere in the middle, if not lower. She has raised her own level and she is showing it on the pitch. She is very consistent."
That mix of youth and experience was the summer’s central project and it is doing exactly what it was designed to do.
"In training and in meetings, everyone gets on so well," Cunniff said. "There is a maturity there now, but there is still a youthful element to the group and I never want to take that away. What the more experienced players give us is game management. When Preston had that five-minute spell, we adapted and we kept our heads."
Rotation has been the theme of the fortnight, and at Deepdale it was the substitutions that saw the job through. Lizzy Hamer-Brown and Abbie Brown both came on and Cunniff makes no attempt to hide how much he values having those options.
"It is amazing to have the squad we have got. Competition really does increase the standard of training," he said. "We have spoken to everyone about it and everyone has bought into it. Everyone understands that if I am not starting this week, I need to be at it on the bench and ready to come on and impact the game. You saw that on Wednesday. It was a strong bench.
"We are lucky, but a club like Bolton attracts these kinds of players. Everyone is in good spirits and ready for Sunday."
There is more to come, too, with Katie Holt among those due back in contention shortly.
"We have got some really exciting players still to come back in," Cunniff said. "It gives you a headache, but it is massive for the squad."
Sunday: FC St Helens at Daisy Hill
Sunday brings a fixture the table describes as first against last and a head coach who has no intention of letting anybody treat it that way.
"It is top against bottom. We cannot hide from that, but we treat it like we treat every game," Cunniff said. "We are expecting them to be organised, physical and very, very loud on the sidelines. It will be a different style of opposition to what we have had to deal with recently.
"We have got a game plan to counter what we feel their weaknesses are and if we go and play our own game we are very confident we can win. But we cannot get dragged into a battle on the pitch. We will battle when we need to, but we need to play our football, get the ball down, keep possession, dominate, create loads of chances and get the three points."
Three games into life at The Ginge Power Stadium, the ground has already started to feel like somewhere that belongs to this team.
"It genuinely feels like home already when you turn up," Cunniff said. "Everyone at Daisy Hill is so nice and so happy to see us, and then the supporters arrive and it just feels right. The feedback from our players is that the atmosphere is good because everyone is close to the pitch, and then you meet people in the clubhouse afterwards.
"We are very grateful to Daisy Hill and we will keep building it. Hopefully we get more supporters down every week and hopefully we put on performances that make people want to come back. It has been an amazing 15 days for us."
Come and be part of it
Four games, four wins, and a team playing the best football of the young season. Sunday is your chance to see it up close.
There is nothing to book and nothing to arrange. Turn up, pay at the turnstile and get behind the girls as they go for a fifth. With the men at home to Lincoln City on Saturday, a trip to Daisy Hill on Sunday afternoon makes it a full weekend of Wanderers football.
Bring the family. Bring a mate who has never been. The players will tell you they can hear you.
Matchday information
Bolton Wanderers Women v St Helens, The Ginge Power Stadium, Daisy Hill, Sunday 30 August, kick-off 2pm.
Admission
Pay on the gate at £6 for adults and £3 for under-16s. Under-12s go free when accompanied by a full-paying adult. Season tickets are 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 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.