Wolves 2 (Marshall 13 & Greengrass 75) Watford 2 (Wilson 62 & Poole 68)
Wolves Women played out a hard-fought 2-2 draw against Watford Women in the WSL 2.
An opening goal from Georgia Marshall and a second-half equaliser from Charlotte Greengrass ensured Wolves maintained their unbeaten home start to the campaign at SEAH Stadium.
Wolves’ first foray forward yielded a half-chance as Emily Orman’s weighted pass found Amber Hughes. The striker then turned well and released Melissa Lawley, who charged forward before her cross was well blocked.
The Hornets created their first opportunity in the seventh minute, but Florence Fyfe couldn’t find the required dip on her shots as it curled over Orman’s crossbar.
Watford built on their foothold in the game and looked to find the opening goal from a corner. However, Georgia Marshall headed Phoebie Poole’s dangerous delivery away from danger before clearing a second cross with her head moments later.
The end-to-end nature of the match continued, and it was Wolves who broke the deadlock in the 13th minute. Marshall continued to dominate in the air, this time heading home a brilliant Lawley corner to give her side the lead.
Marshall’s opener did not deter the visitors, though. Watford came forward from the restart and forced a fingertip save from Orman, with the ball going out for a corner via the crossbar.
The game briefly settled as Wolves nullified the volume of Watford chances; the momentum became increasingly one-sided at the halfway point of the first period.
However, on the half-hour mark, Orman was called into action again, this time diving to her left to deny Tianna Teisar inside the penalty area.
The Old Gold responded with a chance of their own as Lawley was played in behind Skyers. Her cross narrowly evaded Hughes’ sphere before Yana Daniels’ shot was wide of Safia Middleton-Prince’s near post.
That proved to be the final act of an action-packed first half as Wolves took the lead into the interval.
Half-Time | Wolves 1-0 Watford
Unlike the early stages of the first half, the second began with a more measured approach from both sides.
The visitors were denied a clear opening at goal after Orman was almost caught on the ball by Poole, but the goalkeeper was able to clear to thwart the Watford attacker’s advances.
On the hour mark, the Hornets found the equaliser. A free kick was floated into the penalty area and controlled by substitute Wilson, who found the back of the net from close range.
Watford continued to dominate and took the lead in the 68th minute. Poole headed a dangerous cross over Orman to leave Wolves trailing.
However, with just over 15 minutes to go, the Old Gold were handed a golden opportunity to equalise.
A dangerous corner resulted in Chloe Williams’ shot being blocked by a hand. Substitute Greengrass wrapped the spot-kick home emphatically to leave it all to play for at SEAH Stadium.
With just under a minute to play, Marshall had the chance to win the game for Wolves, but her header was straight at Middleton-Patel.
Watford had the chance to win the game from a free-kick in the last minute of added time, but a combination of the crossbar and Orman was enough to prevent the visitors from snatching all three points in Telford.
Full-Time | Wolves 2-2 Watford
Wolves | Orman, Matthews, Marshall, George (Francis 84), Hughes (Greengrass 67), Lawley (Worsey 67), Olding (Filis 76), Sims (Jenner 84), Daniëls, Roberts, Williams
Unused Subs | Brooks, Morphet, Anderson, Jones
Watford | Middleton-Patel, Lyon (Chandler 53), Skyers, Neville, Clancy (Kuyken 64), Noble, Jones, Poole, Teisar (Bailey 64), Muya, Fyfe (Wilson 53)
Unused Subs | Williams, Greenwood, Paul, Gray, Haines
