Nottingham Forest Women started the new FAWNL Premier Division North campaign with a 0-0 draw at Eastwood against Huddersfield Town Women.
Forest were the more dominant side and saw a late Freya Thomas penalty saved by the Huddersfield goalkeeper as both teams shared a point each on the first day of the season.
Mai Moncaster came off the bench to win the penalty, as she was pulled down in the area with less than three minutes left on the clock. Thomas stepped up confidently, having been Forest’s most threatening player all afternoon, but unfortunately could not beat the ‘keeper from 12 yards.
All seven of the new summer signings featured, with six players making full debuts as Andy Cook named his first eleven of the season. In the second half, Naomi Powell made her debut from the bench as Forest looked to find a winning goal.
The Reds started the brighter side, creating a lot of space for Amy West to cause trouble in the early stages of the game. The first chance came after just nine minutes, when Sophie Bramford blazed over from the edge of the box.
In the first half, Huddersfield were defending deep and were very compact. It proved difficult for Forest to get behind but they managed some neat passages of play through the midfield.
As the game moved towards half time, Forest stepped it up and nearly took the lead immediately before the break. Bramford did very well down the left wing and as the ball came in to West she set her sights on goal. The shot initially looked good but sailed agonisingly wide of the mark.
It was the same story in the second half. Forest dominated the ball and passed very well through the pitch, but lacked a final ball or key moment of quality. It was Thomas who was the brightest spark in the second 45.
She started by dancing past two defenders and was flattened for her trouble. A couple minutes later, she was inches from putting Forest ahead. Desperately trying to reach the ball, she threw herself for it. But even with her sliding across the box, it was not enough to reach the cross from Charlotte Greengrass.
On the hour mark, Jade Arber sent a ball over the top for Thomas to chase. Upon reaching the ball, she attempted a first time chip over the Huddersfield ‘keeper. Half the Forest fans inside Eastwood thought it was in but the ball dropped just a foot left of the goal.
The big opportunity came with time nearly up. Batty cleared the ball and Huddersfield allowed it to bounce. Moncaster was on it in a flash and drove forward towards the goal. Just as she reached the box, she was pulled down by a combination of two defending Huddersfield players and the referee pointed to the spot.
Up stepped Thomas, who fired to the right of the goal but saw her attempt saved well by the Huddersfield goalkeeper. Shortly after, the referee called an end to proceedings and both sides could celebrate an unbeaten start to the new season.
Match Statistics
Nottingham Forest (4-3-3)
Emily Batty; Charlotte Greengrass, Lyndsey Harkin (c), Olivia Cook, LJ O'Neill; Becky Anderson, Amy West, Freya Thomas; Rachel Brown, Jade Arber (Naomi Powell 73'), Sophie Bramford (Mai Moncaster 83').
Substitutes: Aja Aguirre, Georgia Hewitt, Charlotte Steggles.
Manager’s View
Speaking after the game Cook said: “It was a really tough game. Huddersfield are a good side and have been for a few seasons in this league. So we knew it was going to be tough.
“We are quite pleased with the point, obviously we had the penalty at the end and could have nicked it but no complaints from me. Freya stepped up, and it showed courage to do that, so we are pleased but know we could have got a bit more.
“Reflecting on the game as staff, we felt the back four, Emily included, were immense. To be fair the whole team in front of them did their part but Becks (Anderson) and the back four especially, were superb.
“Huddersfield are a good side so they’re not going to just let us walk through but we are mainly looking back on half chances. Charlotte Greengrass played a fantastic ball in the second half to Freya and she was stretching for it. We had a good bit of play before Becks (Anderson) could have gone through. So for me it was pleasing.
“It was one of those days really where it doesn’t land for us, I thought we had a good day, but one we can get better.”
Turning his attention to Burney away next week, he said: “Burnley are a good side, we played them a few times a couple years ago. They are a well organised unit, so they will be a tough one to break down.
"They play at a new ground now, so that will be a different challenge for us but one we are looking forward to. We will hopefully have a good week in training and see where we need to get to.”