Bolton Wanderers Women head to Derby County in the Women’s FA Cup Second Round this Sunday (1pm KO) on the back of their best result of the season.
Faye Stanhope and Molly Wood scored as Wanderers beat second-placed Mancunian Unity 2-1 at the Ginge Power Stadium, Daisy Hill. The win makes it 15 wins from 15 in all competitions and puts Tom Cunniff’s side 11 points clear at the top of the North West Women’s Regional League Premier.
Stanhope opened the scoring on 41 minutes. Unity equalised during a strong spell in the second half before Wood, on as a substitute, scored from the penalty spot with 14 minutes left. It was her third successful spot kick of the season.
“Best win of the season by far”
“It’s the best win of the season by far,” said Cunniff. “You could see it in the celebrations for every goal and at the end the whole team, even the subs, sprinted on together.
“It doesn’t mean by any means that we’ve won the league, but it gives us an 11-point cushion in November. Mostly I think it’s relief that the players got the reward for all the hard work they’ve put in.
“We changed our game plan because why give them any opportunity? They had a good 20-minute spell in the second half when they scored, but we absorbed the pressure. If you think about it, we were on top for 70 of the 90 minutes.”
Impact from the bench
Wood and Sophie Coward came off the bench to change the game. A week earlier, Coward scored a hat-trick on her first start.
“Lily and Naomi worked so hard for about an hour and were fantastic,” said Cunniff. “Then Sophie and Molly came on and literally changed the game in terms of intensity. While Unity’s defence was tiring, Sophie stretched them with her runs in behind and Molly was composed and had real quality on the ball.
“It feels like a new signing with Sophie because a lot of opposition teams don’t know much about her. She’s going to be massive for us, like we always said.
“There’s proper buy-in from everyone. Whoever starts and whoever comes on makes a difference and that shows the depth of the squad and how good every single player is.”
Thanks to the Supporters’ Trust
Cunniff also thanked the Bolton Wanderers Supporters’ Trust for funding the new pitch at Daisy Hill.
“I want to say a huge thank you to the Bolton Wanderers Supporters’ Trust for funding our new pitch at Daisy Hill. It has made a massive positive difference to us and the girls really appreciate it. It’s another example of the backing we get from everyone connected with this club.”
Sunday: Derby County away, Women’s FA Cup Second Round
Wanderers play in Tier 5. Derby play two levels higher in Tier 3, the second-biggest gap between teams in this round. Cunniff believes his side can go to Mickleover with nothing to lose.
“Everyone’s expecting us to lose from the outside because of the tier difference, and they’re a good team,” he said. “But we’re full of confidence and we’re in a really strong position in the league, so we’ll just give everything we’ve got and see what happens. We’re more than capable of winning if we play our absolute best, which we have been doing for a few weeks now.
“We’ve done our homework and looked at their recent results, and a couple of our players know a couple of theirs. Every training session this week is about trying to get through to the next round.”
Several of the squad have played at a higher level. Kayleigh McDonald has played a lot in Tier 2, Lizzy Hamer-Brown has played in Tiers 2 and 3, and Naomi Lawrence spent a long spell at Derby.
“For our young players, it’ll be massive,” said Cunniff. “It’s a great occasion, and the club is backing us with everything going on behind the scenes. Even after the win on Sunday, by Monday the girls were already messaging me to say how excited they were for this one.”
Cunniff is also confident that a setback at Derby would not harm his side’s league campaign.
“The experience in this squad knows we will drop points at some stage this season,” he said. “When we do have a setback, how we react the week after will show how good this team is.”
The next league game after the cup tie is against Poulton Vics, Coward’s former club. “She’ll be raring to score for that one as well,” Cunniff added.
Get behind the girls
Derby County Women v Bolton Wanderers Women kicks off at 1pm on Sunday 15 November at the Vibrant Doors Arena, Station Road, Mickleover, DE3 9FB. Tickets cost £1 (under-5s free) and must be booked in advance through Derby County’s website. Limited on-site parking costs £3 per car
Photos: Keria Peacock