Bolton Wanderers Women returned to winning ways in style today, as they ran out a comfortable 5-0 win against Fleetwood Town.
Yesterday, the club announced that Tom Cunniff had been appointed as the First Team Head Coach on a permanent basis, and the team headed into today’s game looking to build on the positive start they have made under his leadership.
Despite testing weather conditions, Wanderers dug deep, and with goals from Abbie Brown (2) Ella Tweedle, Natasha Dale and Zara Plano were all able to find the net to seal another valuable three points for the Whites.
From the whistle, Wanderers looked sharp and determined to impose themselves. Within just two minutes, Abbie Brown thought she’d given the Whites the lead but was denied by the flag for off‑side.
Moments later, Fleetwood hit the side‑netting from a corner, but nothing too threatening to worry the whites at this stage. In the seventh minute, a foul on Natasha Dale gave Wanderers the chance from the spot.
Abbie Brown stepped up to the spot and calmly puts it away to put Wanderers into the lead.
Despite a couple of early attempts from distance — Abbie drilling wide from around 20 yards out in the twelfth minute, and Zara Plano firing narrowly over the bar on the seventeenth minute.
Natasha Dale then forced a smart save from the Fleetwood keeper in the nineteenth minute, the keeper cleared the ball for a Wanderers throw in. Wanderers were firmly applying pressure onto Fleetwood as they hunted for another goal.
On the 26th minute the second goal came, Abbie Brown with her second of the afternoon extended the lead for the whites as she danced around the Fleetwood keeper and tapped it into the goal.
On the half an hour mark, Wanderers got their third. A delightful through ball from Poppy Wallis found Ella Tweedle, who raced into the box, beat her defender and clinically converted to put the Whites ahead.
Just two minutes later, Natasha Dale extended the lead with a superb 30-yard strike that rattled in off the post.
Wanderers maintained relentless pressure. Just a few minutes after Tash’s goal, Abbie Brown drove into the box, drawing the keeper out of her net. The ball fell to Ella Tweedle, who battled in the area, but the Fleetwood defence managed to clear.
Wanderers weren’t finished yet, they continued to press as the Fleetwood keeper came out of her net, allowing Abbie Brown to go for her hat-trick, but her effort was from too tight an angle. The ball reached Ella Tweedle, who was unable to get a touch due to the narrow angle.
At the break Wanderers made a change with Sienna Limbert replacing Milla Hodson, adding fresh legs into the attack.
The start of the second half brought a yellow card for Fleetwood’s No.14 for a foul on Charlotte Tyers. Immediately thereafter, Ella Tweedle looked to have extended the lead but her shot bounced off the goalpost and the keeper came out to get her hands to it, much to her frustration.
On the 49th minute, Zara Plano unleashed a sensational strike from just outside the eighten‑yard box, sending the ball flying over the keeper and the defence to make it 5‑0.
Wanderers then introduced two more substitutes: debutant Jess Nwachukwu and Madison Hardman replaced Poppy Wallis and Ella Tweedle.
On the hour Wanderers made another change Charlotte Tyers and Heidi Clark were replaced by Caitlin Clarke and Scarlett Dearden.
Wanderers continued to apply pressure to Fleetwood, looking to further extend their lead. Abbie Brown came close again from 15 yards, only to be denied by the keeper, before she played into Madi Hardman, Charlotte Tyers managed to pick up the ball and turned and laid the ball to Jess Nwachukwu whose effort clipped the bar in the 57th minute.
Fleetwood were looking to get onto the scoresheet and had a couple of opportunities in the 58th minute and the 64th minute. A brave block from Wanderers’ keeper Annabelle White, before a few minutes later Fleetwood’s Emily Slater got through one‑on‑one with Annabelle, but the Wanderers defence backed her superbly to clear the danger.
Wanderers put their foot back on the pedal after giving Fleetwood some room to play, and at 69 minutes Madison Hardman struck from 20 yards but it went just over the bar.
Sienna Limbert came very close in the 77th minute — her shot looked bound for the net until the keeper got fingertips to it, and it was forced behind for a corner. One minute later Sienna went again, her strike sliding through the keeper’s legs, but she reacted quickly to deny the goal.
In the 79th minute Sienna continued to press and hammered a shot from 15 yards that clipped the post. The last chance in the game came from Madison Hardman who beat the keeper but was forced into a tight angle by trailing Fleetwood defenders; her deflected effort went out for a corner.
Wanderers will head to FC United of Manchester Women next weekend.
Wanderers: White (GK), Clark, Walsh ©, Wilkinson, Hodson, Dale, Plano, Wallis, Tyers, Tweedle, Brown
Subs: Hardman, Clarke, Limbert, Nwachukwu, Dearden
Fleetwood: O’Neil (GK), Cousins, Farrell, Hunter, Frankle, Allan, Masterson, Cardwell-Wilsdon, English, G. Slater, E. Slater
Subs: Hodkin
Report by Katherine Byrne. Pictures by Jake Horrocks.