Watford overcame a stern test from Nottingham Forest on Saturday afternoon as they won promotion back to the Barclays Women’s Championship at the first attempt.
The Golden Girls won the FA Women’s National League Championship Play-off Final 1-0 at Stadium MK in Milton Keynes. Poppy Wilson’s first half goal was the difference between the two sides.
When speaking to FAWSL Full-Time after the match, Watford head coach Damon Lathrope gave his reaction to winning promotion.
“It was never going to be a one-sided game,” Lathrope said. “It’d be mental to think that everything’s going to go our way, that we wouldn’t need a little bit of luck, that we wouldn’t need a little bit of the rub of the green at times.
“We really feel for Forest, they deserve to be promoted. They’ve won their league for a reason.”
It was Nottingham Forest who were victorious the last time the two sides faced-off in the FAWNL Cup final, winning 3-2 after extra-time. The Midlands side had more than enough opportunities to get on the scoresheet on Saturday, however, they were denied by some tremendous goalkeeping from Jacqui Goldsmid in the Watford goal.
“She’s really come good today,” Lathrope said when commenting on Goldsmid’s performance. “She’s had to bide her time. She didn’t play for the first six months of the season and she trained like an absolute beast. She got her opportunity and she grabbed it with both hands.
“She got her reward for 10 months of absolute graft. She’ll be delighted, she deserves the recognition and at times, she made very vital saves and interceptions to keep us in front.”
There to witness Watford’s victory were over 1,000 travelling fans who certainly made their presence felt as they willed their team on.
“That’s why we do it,” Lathrope said as he heaped praise on the fans. “We know all our families are over there, the people who care about us, the people that we do this for. That gives us the extra motivation, the energy when we need it. They came in numbers today like they have done all season for us.”
You would imagine that Watford will now enjoy a lengthy period of celebration, however, Lathrope is already thinking about next season.
He said “We know we’ve got a hell of a lot of work to do. We’re not naïve enough to think we haven’t got to go some to compete and keep our heads above the water in that league.
“We know it’s probably going to be the toughest year to stay in the league with two going down and basically everyone full-time. It’s going to be very, very tough.”
Given that additional relegation place in 2023/2024, The Golden Girls will need to make some big moves in the transfer market if they are to stay in the second tier for the long term. The Hertfordshire club seem set for a very busy summer in preparation for their return to the elite game.
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