Report by SJG

NORTH WEST CHAMPIONSHIP

WIGAN ATHLETIC vs BLACKBURN EAGLES

8^th September 2024

CLEARY HAT-TRICK DELIGHTS BIG CROWD.

An impressive crowd of 1,541 turned up to see history being made as the team played their opening game on the hallowed turf of the Brick Community stadium.

It did not take long for the team to find a rhythm and it was Latics who struck first in what proved to be an intense 45 minutes, with Izzy Worswick winning a corner almost instantly. Their first chance of the game came moments later, a well-placed Cleary shot being well collected by the Blackburn Eagles goalkeeper. Latics were strong on the right flank from the off, and an exciting linkup between Merican, Carr, and Worswick resulting in a number of close-range chances, each one leaving the Latics fans on the edge of their seats.

They didn’t have long to wait for a goal to celebrate, though. After just six minutes, CLEARY opened the scoring. Carr unlocked the Blackburn defence to lay a perfect pass into the heart of the box and when it fell to CLEARY she clinically fired home with the outside of her right foot.

Blackburn Eagles equalised after 14 minutes, WOODRUP taking advantage of a loose ball after Amelia Knowles had saved the initial headed effort. It wasn’t long before the home side regained composure though, with Nini Dada attempting a powerful long-range shot and forcing the Blackburn keeper into action. 

The dynamic Hassall and Cleary link-up was the highlight of the first half, the pair proving themselves vital cogs in the Latics machine by making crunching tackles and using fast feet to glide their way into the final third.

CLEARY got her second of the game after a brilliant piece of skill from Hassall laid the foundation for the attack. Cleary rounded the keeper and, despite getting brought down in the six-yard box, managed to find the back of the net. Latics didn’t let up, continuing to put pressure on the Blackburn defence in the form of Avagrace Hodson’s relentless pressing and hunger to win the ball. 

CLEARY got her third at the end of the half, completing her first - and her team’s first - hat-trick. After receiving the ball just outside the Blackburn box, Cleary took her time, wrong-footing the keeper, before tapping the ball into an empty net. Cleary seems as though she is a fan favourite; by half-time, fans all around the stadium had begun to chant her name, in a tune not so dissimilar to the beloved ‘Will Grigg’s on Fire chant’.

Half Time; Wigan Athletic 2-0 Blackburn Eagles.

A beautiful one-two between Merican and Worswick right after the restart proved to the opposition that Latics were far from complacent. A defensive blunder led the ball falling directly to Cleary’s feet and for a second, it looked as if she was about to bag a fourth but for once her control let her down and the ball ran out of play.

In the 70th minute, Carr won a free-kick right on the edge of the Blackburn box. Captain Abbie Moore stepped up, hoping to score her first goal for her hometown club. The kick soared over the defence, but just over the crossbar.

Laura Heslip got her first real chance of the game after showcasing a wonderful piece of skill to break apart the defence, but the shot that was well saved by the Blackburn keeper. 
Then, in the dying embers of the game, Latics won a free kick and with what turned out to be one of the final chances of an impressive Latics showing, HASSALL scored a wonder strike, curling the ball over the heads of the Blackburn defence and into the net from 25 yards to make it 4-1 to Latics. 

As the final whistle blew, Cleary collected the match ball flanked by her teammates, a show of togetherness before the team made their way around the touchline, meeting fans and posing for photographs. 

Full Time; Wigan Athletic 4-1 Blackburn Eagles.

Scorers; Cleary (6), (33), (39), Halsall (90+2); Woodrup (14);

Attendance; 1,541

Teams; WIGAN— (4-3-3) Knowles; Worswick, McCoy, Moore, Merican; Carr, Dada; Hassall; Black, Cleary; Hodson; Subs; --- Moseley, Baker, Twist, Heslip;

Referee; Mr David Long.