Dan McNamara delighted for Wolves striker Amber Hughes
Dan McNamara has heaped praise on star striker Amber Hughes after her excellent brace helped Wolves Women to a Birmingham County Cup final win over Stourbridge Women.
The forward produced two superb finishes and caught the eye with her second, as she smashed the ball into the top corner from the edge of the box.
Wolves missed out on winning the league – and a chance at promotion – by goal difference while Hughes was sidelined with injury, and McNamara was pleased to see the striker back scoring goals.
"I've been saying it all season, when you've got Amber Hughes on the pitch, she does what she does – and she's phenomenal," the manager said.
"Dare I say it, if we'd had her on the pitch for the last four months, we might have been in a different position. That's how important she is and that's how good she is – and she's popped up with two unbelievable goals.
"I've watched Amber do that against me for a number of years, so to stand here and see her do it for me is incredible. She's an unbelievable player and an unbelievable person.
"We've had to deal with tough games without her and everyone else has come together.
"Ultimately we've matched what we did last year and just missed out on goal difference. All the girls deserve a lot of credit and hopefully we can go onto bigger and better things next year, and keep creating these memories.
"The girls were excited for this, in this stadium. I don't know how many teams have won trophies in Molineux, but I bet it's not too many.
"To do it in front of more than 2,500 people is amazing for them and what a moment for Anna Price to lift the trophy – a lifelong Wolves fan.
"I'm delighted for the players, but to put more than 2,500 people in Molineux, I have to give credit to Stourbridge as well. They've played their part and I look forward to competing with them in tier three next season."
Wolves missed their chance to overtake league leaders Nottingham Forest in the final weeks of the Women's National League Northern Premier Division campaign, as the East Midlands side then won the title on the final day by goal difference.
McNamara lifted his side after that setback to beat Stourbridge 3-0 and retain the cup, and the manager is already looking ahead to next season as Wolves hope to make it third time lucky in their quest to secure promotion to the Championship.
He added: "It's a little bit bitter-sweet because we beat Forest home and away. We haven't had the run of the green this year.
"Last season, when we won it, we didn't pick up big injuries but we've missed Summer Holmes for the last few months and Amber since December 17.
"It's hard to replace these kind of players and you're always going to falter somewhere.
"This season it wasn't meant to be. You need all the luck in the world as well as the quality on the pitch.
"I'm looking forward to next season already. We've got deals to get over the line and players we want to bring in. The group is strong but we want to add to it.
"Matt (Hobbs) and Jeff (Shi) have been fantastic over the last couple years and hopefully they'll keep providing that platform for us to keep building.
"Female football in the Midlands is thriving. You can see what Stourbridge will come and do too.
"We want to stay ahead of the curve and keep competing. Hopefully we can get this club where it needs to be in the Championship."
