Coventry United manager Jay Bradford says that her side’s achievements this season will go down in history and will never be repeated by any other club in the elite game.
The Red and Greens defeated Watford 1-0 at Vicarage Road this afternoon thanks to Mollie Green’s 97th-minute winning goal. The result saw Coventry United escape relegation to the FA Women’s National League at the expense of opponents Watford. The Warwickshire club’s achievement was all the more special given the fact that they were hit with a 10-point deduction in January following their former owners’ decision to apply for liquidation.
This afternoon’s fixture was dominated by Coventry United but good chances were very much at a premium throughout. The Red and Greens looked to have spurned their one big chance as substitute Grace Riglar headed against the base of the post in second half injury time but they were handed another opportunity, one which they took when Green thumped home a 30-yard free-kick to help confirm safety for her side.
When reflecting on the club’s achievement after the final whistle, Coventry United manager Bradford said that her side have written themselves into the history books, whilst adding that no other club will ever repeat the feat.
“It’s unbelievable,” Bradford said. “It’s a goal that fits the moment and the story, this story will go down in history, it will never be done again.
“I don’t think the sanctions will take place like they did for us, I think they will be adjusted and rightly so. Hopefully, nobody will have to live through what we have been through.
“It’s Mollie Green all over, it’s her qualities, the calm head in that moment to strike the ball properly because it is so easy to get that wrong so full credit to her.”
Watford sat back from the first whistle and allowed Coventry United to impose themselves on the game. Bradford was delighted with how her team controlled the proceedings despite maybe not carving out as many clear-cut opportunities as she would have liked.
She said “I thought we controlled the ball, we controlled the fixture. They clearly had a game plan to sit in and hit us on the counter and I thought that we dealt with that, we dealt with the threats that they had upfront extremely well.
“It was about us having a moment. Grace (Riglar) had a chance moments before and you are praying for it to go in then we get one more chance and Mollie Green steps up.
“We’ve been under pressure week in, week out for the last seven or eight games so there were no nerves. What did we have to be nervous about? We had nothing to lose. We went out to enjoy ourselves and that’s what we did.”
After being redundant at Christmas then having to claw back a 10-point penalty in the second half of the season, Coventry United will celebrate well into the evening.
Commenting on the team’s immediate plans, Bradford said “We will probably celebrate with a beer. We are going to enjoy the moment and enjoy being with each other, enjoy telling our stories from the last eight games. We’ve had to keep a lid on our emotions, we’ve had to win on a Sunday and come in on a Monday.
“Right now, we can go in the dressing room and there are no more games, there is no more pressure, we escaped, we completed The Great Escape so we are just going to enjoy our moment.”
Coventry United end the campaign in 11th place in the FA Women’s Championship table, one place and one point above Watford who will now return to the FA Women’s National League Southern Premier.
About The Author
