Wootten: ‘I’m really proud of the team for that!’

South Shields Women’s Jen Wootten says she was “really proud of the team” for how they reacted in the second half against Wakefield on Sunday.

The Mariners were stunned by a threadbare Falcons side who had no named substitutes available but they managed to grab a goal through Erin Taylor to cut the deficit to two, amidst a spell of continued pressure which created plenty of opportunities going forward late on.

And although the lasses lost 4-2, the game offered the team a clear indication about the areas they should work on before the Redcar Town Ladies match in a fortnight. 

“Everyone is gutted of course; it’s never nice losing, and we know what we need to work on,” she said. 

“However, we said at the end of the match that we couldn’t have gone out any stronger in the second half to try and pull it back. Everyone dug deep and showed a real desire to win. I’m really proud of the team for that!”

Wootten came off just shy of 10 minutes into the game, and head coach Matt Gatiss singled her out in the post-match interview as being a real difference-maker out there.

The player of the match came back on after the break and she also set up Taylor for Shields’ second. 

She continued: “I was gutted to come off injured as I always want to perform my best for the team so I was glad to go back on and try to make a difference in the second half. It’s a massive compliment and I’m glad I could help the team out in some way… even if it was with a limp!” 

There are no league games for the lasses this week which gives them an extra week to prepare for the reverse tie against Redcar. 

Shields won 5-0 at the Mo Mowlam Memorial Park back in September thanks to braces from Sophie Greener and Eve Gatens, as well as a classic Jaz Elliott-Wood header. 

She added: “It gives us a chance to rest some small injuries and get other players back to full fitness. We can regroup, reset and really focus on how we want to perform against Redcar. 

“We want to be positive and get back to our winning ways.”

As ever more information about the Redcar game will be shared on the club’s social media channels closer to matchday.