Bolton Wanderers Ladies put five past Chorley to win three on the bounce

Goals are certainly not hard to come by for Bolton Wanderers Ladies at the moment. The Ladies have racked up three consecutive victories, following two league wins in the last two weekends.

On Sunday, the Whites faced a first ever local derby at Women’s Premier League level against near neighbours Chorley. The game got off to a frantic start, with Bolton racking up three early goals through a Saf Newhouse brace and another from Emma Pilling, then contrived to miss a penalty and concede a goal to give the visitors hope. But that hope was short-lived as Pilling added another just before the break to send the Whites in with a comfortable 4-1 lead.

The second half saw things calm down a little, then Ruby Howard extended the lead midway through the half. Chorley scored a late consolation, but nothing could spoil an excellent day with a 5-2 success for the Ladies.

This win followed a 3-1 victory at fellow Premier League newcomers Barnsley the previous Sunday. Bolton dominated the first half and made their pressure count around the midway point with two quick goals, with Howard finishing after some fine build-up play by Pilling then Newhouse scoring from a tight angle after Pilling’s shot was saved. Bolton continued to dominate after the break and made the pressure count as Emily Hockenhull scored her first ever goal for the club with a fierce drive from a corner.

You can watch all the goals from that game in the video below:

That's now three wins out of five, and an impressive start to life in the Women’s Premier League. Concentration now shifts to the three cup competitions the Ladies remain active in, starting with an FA Cup match against another local team CMB this weekend.

Manager Chris Knights is understandably pleased with the side’s form. He said: “Our front players looked really sharp, the midfield is starting to understand how we want to play and the defence are getting stronger every game. Overall the girls are doing really well and I am very proud of the work they are putting in to make sure they improve as the season goes on.”

Reserves back to winning ways

A youthful Bolton Ladies Reserves side came out on the right side of an eight-goal thriller on Sunday. 16-year-old Ellie Mills opened the scoring with her first Bolton goal, then Shelly Wolstencroft stole the show with a hat-trick. Annie Ashurst’s goal minutes after coming off the bench sealed an unexpected 5-3 victory that highlights the impressive depth of talent at the club.

This victory showed great character to bounce back from an unlucky 6-1 defeat at Bradford the previous Sunday. An already injury-hit squad lost their goalkeeper just before kick-off, but impressively went into half-time just 1-0 down and having hit the bar three times. The lack of a goalkeeper told in the second half, but the girls played some attractive football and scored a consolation goal through Naomi Greene.

League Cup success

Bolton Ladies racked up a massive 10-1 win in the first leg of the divisional Greater Manchester County League Cup. Hero of the day was Stacey Saunders who found the net five times, and the girls had racked up seven goals in the first 25 minutes.