Forest Lotto
Nottingham Forest 0-2 Aston Villa (Women’s Super League Cup Group Stages)
The Subway Players Cup is a competition involving 23 Women’s Super League and WSL2 sides (Manchester City, Arsenal & Chelsea aren’t appearing this season due to their European commitments) and after ditching the four team group formats of previous campaigns, this year will see the in trend Swiss model being used, a watered down copy cat of the UEFA Champions League format, but with another twist, draws in the group stages after ninety minutes will be decided by penalty shootouts (one point for losing, two for a shootout win).
It’s all a bit confusing, one division split into north and south with (most) teams playing three WSL and three WSL2 opponents, the top eight go through to the quarter finals with the highest ranked teams gaining home advantage in the knockouts.
Now in its sixteenth season the funny thing is, only Manchester City, Arsenal and Chelsea have ever won it, so without the big dogs in this year’s tournament, it looks like they’ll be a new winner at last.
Current holders Chelsea beat Manchester United 2-0 at Ashton Gate in March to reclaim the title they had won the previous year, in all they have won the cup 4 times, the same amount as Manchester City, with first ever winners Arsenal, who won the first three competitions back-to-back-to-back in fact, have won seven titles thus far.
Swatting up finished, this ones nice and easy for me tonight, as I travel the short two and half mile trek north towards the City Ground, top tier Aston Villa are in town, a side who are yet to win this season so far, having drew two and lost one of their league games, their most recent point thanks to a late Lynn Wilms goal in a draw at Brighton at the weekend.
Forest, I have seen recently in WSL2 action this season, they drew v Ipswich on the opening day, drew against Watford in front of my own eyes, and beat Durham on Sunday after coming from behind in the North East, Chantelle Boye-Hlorkah and Georgia Brougham both on the scoresheet.
The Venue
I’ve pulled up on Musters Road which is a short walk from the stadium, I’m passing Trent Bridge Cricket Ground and Eva’s Grill which do nice kebabs and sometimes fireworks after Forest men win their home games (which isn’t very often these days), I’ve time on my hands so have a rummage around the club shop in search of a winter woolly hat, but I’m collared by a lady who wants me to subscribe to Forest Lotto. “It’s only £2.25 a week” she tells me. “Not a lot of money”. I respond “that’s nearly £10 a month” before waving her on her way.
As I head for the turnstiles, I’m wondering what these wands actually do in the stewards’ hands? I’ve never seen one stop anybody for anything, do they even work, is it just a gimmick? I’m waiting behind some kids having their bags searched before I’m finally let through with little more than a waft of my arms.
Usual spot these days, back of the Peter Taylor Main Stand on the very back row, tea and Twix in hand, I’ve noticed some new flash boards have gone up around the middle section of the Brian Clough Stand opposite, quite controversial, they have replaced the honours board which read out some of Forest’s most famous cup wins across like banner, these days clubs can’t wear betting sponsors on their t-shirts, but they can blast them at every opportunity digitally across the whole stadium if they must.
With three weeks off for the international break, there’s some seats been taken out of the Bridgford Lower (newly named John Robertson Stand) where often the away team fans will sit. Apparently being replaced with all new safe seating, possibly implemented after Fenerbahçe fans crushed a few rows of seats by jumping on them last season?
The Game
There’s little over a thousand in attendance in the Main Stand only, a few changes made by both teams as they begin proceedings with Villa in black pushing the ball between their back four. It feels like the done way in the women’s game, these teams all seem to play the same, side 'A' in possession pass between themselves, side 'B' out of possession presses in an organised manner, it’s all well drilled, over coached, I’m thinking to myself ‘what if a centre half just goes long?’ or ‘how about if a midfielder just gets it and runs forward?’. I want to see some destruction to the regime, a bit of fucking carnage instead of same old same old.
The first ten minutes are crammed in the Aston Villa left hand corner, they pass from keeper to centre half back to keeper to centre half to left back who tries to kick it forward but Forest’s press blocks, and it all results in a throw in no further than eighteen yards out. It’s all a bit sad and sorry and slow, plenty of kids in audience screaming and shouting below, they need to be entertained, as I look to my left and the Forest match reporter sat in the press box hasn’t even taken the top off his Bic Biro pen yet.
20 minutes in it’s all a drag but suddenly action, said Villa passing it between the back four has goalkeeper Okuma kick a back pass against the on rushing Deanne Rose who ricochet’s the ball against the crossbar off her knees, the best chance of the game, and it’s all of Villa’s doing through coaches crap keep ball philosophy.
The Score
Things do improve. Eventually... Young Lily Murphy down the Villa left has some pace, she races down the wing and crosses low for Georgia Mullet who should score, her effort brilliantly stopped by the brilliant Emily Batty in the Forest goal, a huge save that keeps things at nil nil into half time.
The second half is just as tough and turgid to watch, not much in the way of action as the fans start singing to Forest teen striker Lois Shooter, “If Shooter scores, we’re in the Trent” a song which the men often sing about Ryan Yates, I’m thinking to myself, “if Shooter scores, I’ll jump in the Trent myself” knowing that there’s a high probability I can walk away from this game completely dry.
On 64 there’s a flurry of subs, three for Forest, two for Villa, and as the new girls settle in to proceedings one of them takes it upon herself to have a crack. Maya Hijikata has just came on, she takes aim from outside the box and blasts the hell out of the ball into the roof of the net. Football is a simple game, after all.
It’s a goal the game needed and I’m quite relieved it relinquishes the possibility of it going to penalties, late on another sub, Chastity Grant, takes aim with a deflected effort to crown things off. Villa are far from great tonight, Forest to be fair to them, not that bad themselves, but as the Reds never really looked like scoring, the away side never looked like losing either.
The Stars
Slight differences in elite level women’s footballers and those in tier two, but that gap is decreasing and Forest certainly competed and were not overwhelmed, until perhaps Aston Villa upped the ante with a few first team internationals from off the bench.
Anna Patten is a player I like, a centre half with composure, neat, next to Oceane Deslandes who also looked very calm and tidy on the ball. Out left I was impressed with how quick young Lily Murphy was, a real burst of speed in the first half she looked to carry the ball forward and get at defenders.
For Forest, plenty of huff and puff, good work rate in all they did but often lacking in playmaking quality, left back Abbie Lafayette is a very solid player, Rachel Rowe worked hard in midfield, but not too many of their players would indeed trouble the Villa starting eleven, which in a way is testament to how they performed, in what was a relatively tight game, especially for the first 66 minutes of the match.
The Verdict
I do like coming here, a cheap £8 ticket has me sat in the rafters away from the noise, down below you can see how excited the young girls get, and there's families, young dads and their sons or daughters, coming along for an affordable night out, I just sometimes wish the football was better?
Maybe they need to look at what they do in America? Have a side show during the show, to stop those toddlers from walking off from their parents during the game, because you do see boredom, and if it’s showing in the press seats, no doubt you’ll get it with the kids some of which aren't even looking at the action.
Maybe litter the stands with face painters and clowns? Get the club shop open during the game, put a bouncy castle by the corner flag, make football fun again, because over coaching elite women to play the game to the letter of your coaching badge, well it just ends up making the game disciplined, safe, organised, structured, which unfortunately, doesn’t guarantee fun, mostly boring, but I want to watch the Mavericks, the Magicians, those who get your bum off your seat, all too frequently, when I watch women's football, I feel like I'm coming to watch the coaches master plan in practice, and that is not really, what I want to pay to see.
The Teams
Nottingham Forest: Emily Batty, Grace McEwan, Chloe Mustaki (Hannah Coan 46), Abbie Lafayette (Leticia McKenna 63), Ebba Hed, Ilona Walta (Mel Johnson 78), Tove Almqvist, Alana Murphy, Rachel Rowe (Freya Thomas 63), Deanne Rose (Cerys Brown 63), Lois Shooter.
Aston Villa: Akane Okuma, Noelle Maritz (Katie Scott 81), Anna Patten (Mathilde Harviken 75), Oceane Deslandes, Rachel Maltby, Miriael Taylor, Justine Kielland, Mia McAulay (Chasity Grant 75), Lucia Kendall (Maya Hijikata 64), Lily Murphy, Georgia Mullet (Amalie Vansgaard 64).
7:00pm Kick Off. Wednesday 23rd September 2026, City Ground, Nottingham (att 1,600).
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