Southampton claimed the Women’s National League playoff trophy in a tense and highly competitive victory over Wolves, securing promotion to the Championship. Sophia Pharoah’s first-half strike was enough to sink spirited opposition who were a player short for the whole second half.
In the words of the Wolves manager, Dan McNamara, in the buildup, this was “the game that shouldn’t exist”. The culmination of this season’s National League saw two regional champions go head-to-head. The prize, a single promotion spot into the second tier of the women’s pyramid. For many, such as McNamara, this is an unsatisfactory conclusion to what has been a superb campaign for both, with such dominance deserving of reward.
