WOLVES ARE WINNERS BUT END UP LOSERS IN BITTERSWEET CAMPAIGN

Promoted via The FA’s ‘upward movement’ process following two Covid-hit seasons, Wolverhampton Wanderers were the Northern Premier Division’s 2021-22 surprise package as they swept to the title with an eight-point gap between themselves and runners-up Derby County in the final table.

In the entire campaign Wolves lost only one league game, to fourth placed Burnley, but their bid for a second successive climb up the women’s pyramid was ended when they were beaten by Southern Premier Division winners Southampton in the promotion play-off.

So it was a sad finish to the campaign for Dan McNamara’s team, but they had firmly established themselves as a top Tier 3 club after building on a tremendous, undefeated start that saw them take 22 points from a possible 24 in their opening eight matches.

By the end of October they were top of the table, but only by a single point as both Derby and Fylde - who were in joint second place - kept pace. 

And after going through a weather-hit three-month spell without a league match, they were six points behind their two major rivals - though they had four games in hand on Fylde and three in hand on Derby.

The gap was gradually reduced as Wolves were able to play those games in hand, and - after the set-back of their only defeat at Burnley - they ran up five wins in a row to clinch the title with a 2-0 victory over Sheffield and with three games of their league season to spare.

After seeing the divisional winner’s trophy lifted, manager McNamara said: “The players’ attitude and application over the past 12 months have been fantastic. To see them lift that trophy is my proudest moment in football and something that will stay with me forever.” 

An even prouder moment was potentially in the offing for McNamara as his team, after completing their Northern Premier fixture programme and then beating Black Country rivals West Bromwich Albion in the Birmingham County Cup final, prepared for the promotion play-off meeting with Southampton.

But for the Wolves boss it was not to be from inside the technical area that he would be directing operations against a Saints team managed by ex-Arsenal and England striker Marieanne Spacey-Cale.

McNamara, an Aircraft Technician in the Royal Air Force, was on an ‘out of area’ tour of duty many miles from England and had been in charge of the County Cup final through a video link.

And he was set to repeat the process for the play-off match, to be staged at Stockport County’s Edgeley Park. “I’ll be steering the ship from a wi-fi room,” he explained.

“Wolves provided me with a private link to the (County Cup) final and it went well. I was able to communicate with the staff without any problems and I have to say it gave me a whole new perspective on matchday management. It was very useful ahead of the play-off.”

FAWNL PROMOTION PLAY-OFF 2021-22

Southampton 1 (Pharoah 22)
Wolves 0

Edgeley Park, Stockport
21 May 2022

McNamara regarded his amateur team as underdogs against the part time professionals of Southampton, who went into the play-off knowing that full-time contracts would be on offer if they won the match and so qualified for the FA Women’s Championship.

As he was managing the match remotely the Wolves boss had brought in Karl Milgate, like McNamara in the RAF and an experienced coach in the women’s game, to be his team’s on-the-spot coach.

And so Milgate watched at first hand as Wolves, in what was the first FAWNL play-off shown live by the BBC, were undone by a controversial sending off for defender Kelly Darby on the stroke of half-time.

With Saints leading through a 22nd minute Sophia Pharoah goal, Darby was booked for a 34th minute offence before she was shown a second yellow card and so dismissed by referee Lauren Impey for treading on Alisha Ware as she tried to jump clear of the fallen winger.

Despite being a player down and having been second best in the first half, Wolves pushed for an equaliser throughout the second period. Striker Amber Hughes, winger Beth Merrick and midfielder Tammi George all went close, George agonisingly so as her stoppage time volley flashed just over the bar.

Spacey-Cale was obviously jubilant that her team had won the play-off, but she said of Wolves: “They gave us a really tough game and credit to them, they were absolutely outstanding.”

The Southampton manager’s words were of no real consolation, however. Milgate said: “Sport sometimes hurts you and we couldn’t get it over the line. But after changing shape for the second half it was a brilliant effort. If it had been 11 v 11 I think we would have got something from the game.”

Despite the play-off ending in bitter disappointment for her team, club captain Anna Price - after what was her 332nd game in a Wolves shirt, said: 

“It was the highlight of my career. Leading the girls out in a play-off for the Championship is something I’ll never forget, the whole day was a fantastic experience. But it wasn’t about me, it was about us winning and getting into the Championship and we haven’t done that.

“In the end it was cruel to lose out, but every player and member of staff were a credit to the club on such a big occasion. We don’t stop here. What’s happened to us in this play-off has made us hungrier. We’ll learn from the experience and next season we’ll go again.”

Southampton (4-3-2-1): Rendell; Mott, Parnell, Rafferty, Collett (Rood 76); Rutherford, Griffiths, Freeland (Morris 62); Kendall, Ware; Pharoah.

Substitutes not used: Pusey, Luce, Watling.

Wolverhampton Wanderers (3-4-1-2): Turner; Darby, E. Cross, Morphet; J. Cross, Price, Cooper, Merrick; George; Hughes, Gauntlett (Miller 69).

Substitutes not used: Dicken, Miller, Walker, Elsmore, Burridge.

Referee: Ms L Impey

FAWNL NORTHERN PREMIER DIVISION UPS AND DOWNS 2021-22

Wolves’ promotion play-off defeat meant that in 2022-23 they would again be competing in the Northern Premier Division, the make-up of which would see a reduction from 13 clubs to 12.

Relegated from the division would be the bottom three teams, Middlesbrough, Hull City and Sheffield FC.

The two clubs climbing up to the Northern Premier would be Liverpool Feds and Boldmere St Michaels, respectively the winners of 2021-22’s Division One North and Division One Midlands.

FINAL TABLE

FA WOMEN’S NATIONAL LEAGUE NORTHERN PREMIER DIVISION RESULTS 2021-22

15/8/2021
Fylde 4-0 West Bromwich Albion
Brighouse Town 2-3 Derby County
Loughborough Lightning 2-2 Hull City
Nottingham Forest 0-0 Huddersfield Town
Sheffield 0-4 Burnley
Wolverhampton Wanderers 2-0 Middlesbrough

22/8/2021
Burnley 1-4 Nottingham Forest
Derby County 0-1 Wolverhampton Wanderers
Hull City 1-5 Brighouse Town
Loughborough Lightning 3-0 Sheffield
Middlesbrough 1-3 Huddersfield Town
Stoke City 2-3 Fylde

25/8/2021
Fylde 2-0 Burnley
Huddersfield Town 1-1 Brighouse Town
Wolverhampton Wanderers 2-0 West Bromwich Albion

26/8/2021
Nottingham Forest 3-1 Sheffield
Stoke City 2-3 Derby County

29/8/2021
Derby County 2-1 Burnley
Hull City 0-6 Nottingham Forest
Loughborough Lightning 1-5 Huddersfield Town
Middlesbrough 4-1 West Bromwich Albion
Sheffield 1-0 Stoke City
Wolverhampton Wanderers 0-0 Fylde

5/9/2021
Burnley 4-0 Huddersfield Town
Fylde 3-0 Hull City
Brighouse Town 4-1 Middlesbrough
Loughborough Lightning 1-5 Stoke City
West Bromwich Albion 2-1 Sheffield
Wolverhampton Wanderers 1-0 Nottingham Forest

26/9/2021
Derby County 4-0 Middlesbrough
Huddersfield Town 2-3 Wolverhampton Wanderers
Hull City 0-3 Burnley
Nottingham Forest 1-0 Fylde
Stoke City 1-1 Brighouse Town
West Bromwich Albion 5-0 Loughborough Lightning

3/10/2021
Burnley 3-0 Loughborough Lightning
Brighouse Town 1-1 West Bromwich Albion
Huddersfield Town 5-1 Stoke City
Middlesbrough 0-3 Fylde
Nottingham Forest 0-2 Derby County
Sheffield 4-0 Hull City

5/10/2021
West Bromwich Albion 0-0 Nottingham Forest

6/10/2021
Burnley 0-1 Brighouse Town

7/10/2021
Loughborough Lightning 0-3 Derby County
Sheffield 0-6 Huddersfield Town
Stoke City 0-4 Wolverhampton Wanderers

10/10/2021
Loughborough Lightning 1-2 Middlesbrough
West Bromwich Albion 1-3 Huddersfield Town
Wolverhampton Wanderers 3-2 Hull City

17/10/2021
Hull City 0-0 West Bromwich Albion
Middlesbrough 1-2 Stoke City

24/10/2021
Derby County 0-0 West Bromwich Albion
Fylde 4-1 Sheffield
Brighouse Town 2-1 Loughborough Lightning
Hull City 1-4 Stoke City
Nottingham Forest 3-2 Middlesbrough
Wolverhampton Wanderers 2-2 Burnley

31/10/2021
Burnley 3-4 West Bromwich Albion
Fylde 5-2 Brighouse Town
Huddersfield Town 1-3 Derby County
Middlesbrough 2-1 Hull City

7/11/2021
Stoke City 0-2 Burnley

17/11/2021
Derby County 4-0 Sheffield
Huddersfield Town 3-0 Fylde

18/11/2021
Nottingham Forest 4-0 Loughborough Lightning

5/12/2021
Derby County 0-0 Fylde

19/12/2021
Middlesbrough 0-2 Derby County
Nottingham Forest 1-1 Burnley

9/1/2022
Fylde 2-0 Loughborough Lightning
Middlesbrough 1-3 Burnley
West Bromwich Albion 1-0 Stoke City

16/1/2022
Burnley 6-1 Sheffield
Fylde 6-1 Middlesbrough
Huddersfield Town 2-1 Nottingham Forest
Hull City 1-3 Loughborough Lightning

23/1/2022
Brighouse Town 5-0 Hull City
Huddersfield Town 2-0 Middlesbrough
Sheffield 1-1 Loughborough Lightning
Stoke City 0-1 Nottingham Forest
Wolverhampton Wanderers 3-2 Derby County

26/1/2022
Burnley 2-2 Fylde
Derby County 5-0 Stoke City
Brighouse Town 1-0 Huddersfield Town
West Bromwich Albion 0-3 Wolverhampton Wanderers

27/1/2022
Sheffield 0-2 Nottingham Forest

30/1/2022
Burnley 1-0 Derby County
Fylde 1-1 Wolverhampton Wanderers
Hull City 0-0 Middlesbrough
Loughborough Lightning 5-4 Brighouse Town
Stoke City 2-1 Sheffield

6/2/2022
Hull City 0-5 Wolverhampton Wanderers

13/2/2022
Fylde 2-1 Nottingham Forest
Brighouse Town 2-3 Stoke City
Loughborough Lightning 2-1 West Bromwich Albion

20/2/2022
Derby County 1-1 Loughborough Lightning
Nottingham Forest 1-0 Hull City

27/2/2022
Derby County 3-1 Hull City
Middlesbrough 0-5 Brighouse Town
Nottingham Forest 0-3 Wolverhampton Wanderers
Stoke City 1-2 Huddersfield Town

2/3/2022
Wolverhampton Wanderers 5-0 Stoke City

3/3/2022
Nottingham Forest 1-0 West Bromwich Albion
Huddersfield Town 2-0 Sheffield

6/3/2022
Burnley 3-0 Wolverhampton Wanderers
Stoke City 2-6 Middlesbrough
West Bromwich Albion 2-0 Derby County

13/3/2022
Loughborough Lightning 0-3 Wolverhampton Wanderers
Derby County 3-0 Huddersfield Town
Brighouse Town 0-1 Fylde
Middlesbrough 2-1 Sheffield
Nottingham Forest 2-0 Stoke City
West Bromwich Albion 4-2 Hull City

16/3/2022
Brighouse Town 3-1 Burnley

20/3/2022
Derby County 1-3 Brighouse Town
Hull City 4-0 Sheffield
Middlesbrough 0-4 Wolverhampton Wanderers
West Bromwich Albion 2-2 Fylde

27/3/2022
Burnley 3-1 Stoke City
Derby County 1-0 Nottingham Forest
Huddersfield Town 3-0 West Bromwich Albion
Hull City 0-1 Fylde
Middlesbrough 1-3 Loughborough Lightning
Sheffield 0-5 Wolverhampton Wanderers

30/3/2022
Fylde 1-5 Huddersfield Town

3/4/2022
Burnley 7-0 Hull City
Fylde 0-2 Derby County
Brighouse Town 0-1 Nottingham Forest
Sheffield 0-2 West Bromwich Albion
Stoke City 4-2 Loughborough Lightning
Wolverhampton Wanderers 2-1 Huddersfield Town

10/4/2022
Fylde 2-1 Stoke City
Hull City 0-5 Huddersfield Town
Loughborough Lightning 2-6 Burnley
Middlesbrough 0-7 Nottingham Forest
West Bromwich Albion 2-2 Brighouse Town
Wolverhampton Wanderers 2-0 Sheffield

13/4/2022
Loughborough Lightning 1-1 Nottingham Forest
Wolverhampton Wanderers 2-2 Brighouse Town

14/4/2022
Huddersfield Town 0-0 Burnley

17/4/2022
Huddersfield Town 2-2 Loughborough Lightning
Hull City 1-2 Derby County
Sheffield 0-2 Fylde
West Bromwich Albion 1-1 Middlesbrough

21/4/2022
Brighouse Town 1-0 Sheffield

24/4/2022
Brighouse Town 1-1 Wolverhampton Wanderers
Loughborough Lightning 4-1 Fylde
Sheffield 1-1 Middlesbrough
Stoke City 3-0 Hull City
West Bromwich Albion 0-8 Burnley

28/4/2022
Sheffield 0-3 Brighouse Town

1/5/2022
Nottingham Forest 0-0 Brighouse Town
Sheffield 0-2 Derby County
Stoke City 2-0 West Bromwich Albion
Wolverhampton Wanderers 4-0 Loughborough Lightning

8/5/2022
Burnley 6-1 Middlesbrough
Huddersfield Town 1-2 Hull City