September 19th 2025.u14 girls beaten by Sheffield.

The u14 girls began their National Cup campaign under the floodlights at the iconic Lilleshall National Sports Centre — the very ground where England’s 1966 World Cup squad prepared for their famous triumph at Wembley and to add to the sense of occasion, the match was refereed by Mark Warren, assistant referee in the 1998 World Cup final between Brazil and France in Paris.Conditions were perfect and we were afforded a superb surface on which to play football on a warm September evening but that was where the positives ended because we were facing a Sheffield side who had crushed Liverpool 5-1 in last seasons Plate final.Nevertheless the opening exchanges were very competitive with neither side able to take control.

Sheffield’s cohesion soon became apparent as the match progressed,however, and it was only our grit and determination which kept us in the game as our lone striker,Jess Osborne, found support hard to come by. Jess worked tirelessly up front without any reward and Kiran was eventually introduced to add another forward option but the pressure continued to mount and we were indebted to stand-in goalkeeper Immy Jones who had replaced Poppy Pitt who was injured. Immy was excellent throughout and it was only her saves that were keeping us in the game.Just when it looked as though her brave stops were going to see us safely into the interval Sheffield broke through to score the opener and we were forced into a reshuffle.

Our captain Jess Pullen was pushed into midfield in the second half to provide more creativity but the brave gamble quickly backfired. Our opponents ruthlessly exposed the space we were leaving at the back to score a flurry of goals which ended the game as a contest long before the final whistle. Jess was outstanding, showing leadership, versatility, and fight in difficult circumstances but we were never able to create anything of note and she eventually returned to our defence in order to introduce a degree of stability. The match petered out in the later stages as we focused on limiting the damage but Sheffield's quality shone throughout the team and they were excellent value for their eventual 6-0 victory.Despite the scoreline, Wolverhampton can take plenty of positives and debutants Issy Campbell & Isabella Godfrey can both be proud of their contribution. Indeed every one of our girls never stopped trying and they must all be commended for their spirit, resilience, and a willingness to work hard under pressure.

Squad:

Imogen Jones, Priya Khakh, Isabella Godfrey, Jess Pullen, Issy Campbell, Eesha Sidhu, 

Georgia Hambrook, Emma Halford, Jess Osborne, Freya Rickuss,Trinity Donaldson,

Grace Steadman, Kiran Bhella