Nottingham Forest Women have secured their fifth victory of the season after a one-sided performance against Stourbridge at the City Ground.
Going into this weekend, Nottingham Forest were sat in a comfortable third place on the table, with the top three contenders all tied on nine points. A single goal is all that kept Nottingham Forest from claiming the top spot. Stourbridge were sat at tenth place with a goal difference of -8.
Carly Davies made one change to the starting eleven that secured the Reds a 6-0 win against rivals Wolverhampton Wanderers, with Melissa Johnson making way for Bridget Galloway who made her first start in the FA Women’s National League.
Both sides started the game with a strong forward force, but Forest quickly found a break in Stourbridge’s defence as Domingo was able to gain possession of the ball within the box, crossing to Chandarana who shot the ball just wide of the woodwork.
Minutes after, Natalie Johnson was left dangerously unmarked just beyond the 18-yard line. Pushing for the first goal of the game, Johnson sent the ball flying towards Grimshaw who remained rooted to the floor after the ball drifted over the crossbar.
The hosts took the lead in the fourteenth minute, after a shot from Domingo rebounded against Grimshaw, falling at the feet of Wellings who was able to grace the left side of the net.
Forest now had a slender lead; one they were not looking to surrender. Defender Natalie Johnson bagged her fourth goal of the season after tapping the ball in from a stunning angle. Stourbridge were now suffering a 2-goal deficit.
A free kick awarded to Forest saw their lead increase once again. Mollie Green stood to take the free kick, 25 yards from the goal, and was able to curve the ball around the Stourbridge wall before slotting into the corner of the net.
With half time quickly approaching, Forest were eager to secure another, with Galloway and Johnson having opportunities to score, but none of the attempts gained success.
HALFTIME: Nottingham Forest 3-0 Stourbridge Ladies
2 minutes after a triple substitution during the interval, Sophie Domingo scored her first goal of the game. A 1v1 encounter between Domingo and the opposing keeper fell in Forest’s favour, securing the Reds a fourth.
Domingo then claimed her second of the evening after a perfectly timed run cleared multiple defenders, leaving Domingo an open goal to score again.
Davies introduced another player into the game, with Freya Thomas making way for Amy Sims.
With Stourbridge remaining static, Domingo initiated a high press, forcing mistakes to appear in the Stourbridge defence. Manders was able to slide in behind the backline, into a clear space, scoring the sixth goal of the evening.
The final round of substitutions happened in the 80th minute as the opening goal scorer, Wellings, made way for Dungate.
Halftime substitute Melissa Johnson then left her mark on the game by securing the first of her brace minutes before the final whistle.
Sophie Domingo then bundled home her third of the evening, securing her first hat-trick in the famous Garibaldi Red.
With seconds to go until the final whistle was blown, Melissa Johnson increased the Reds lead by another. A loose pass from Dungate found Johson in the box, and despite a swarm of Stourbridge defenders closing in, Johnson landed the ball in the bottom corner of the net.
FULL TIME: Nottingham Forest 9-0 Stourbridge.
Formations:
Nottingham Forest: [4,3,3]
Starting XI: Batty [GK], Harkin [C], N. Johnson, Longhurst, Domingo, Galloway, Wellings, Green, Thomas, Hamilton, Chandarana
Substitutes: Ferguson, Sims, M. Johnson, Manders, Olding, James, Dungate
Stourbridge Ladies: [3,5,2]
Grimshaw [GK], Griffiths, Hadley, Fantom, Clearkin, Clements, Joyce, Horgan, Rogers, Hood, Embley [C]
Substitutes: McIntosh, Rogers, Ashton, Clark, McCann-Lloyd, Bennett-Steele, Howard
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