Swindon Town Women’s Manager Richard Wood has praised his side’s “hard work” following a crucial 2-0 win over Exeter City yesterday afternoon.
The Robins have struggled to adapt to life in the FA Women’s National League Southern Premier Division following their promotion to the division at the end of last season, and had endured a lengthy winless run in the league prior to Sunday’s result.
Wood, who led the side to the FAWNL Division One South West title last season, called the win “incredibly satisfying” after a heavy defeat at the hands of relegation rivals Cheltenham Town last week.
He went on to add, “Sometimes we’ve not had the rub of the green; it was really important to get the goal early and settle us down, and the one in the second-half too. The timing of our goals was really good. It wasn’t pretty all of the time, but it was a really gritty, determined result from a group of players who aren’t ready to give up or down tools on the situation. They’ve shown today that they are good enough.”
He also added that he believes this win will give his side the platform to “kick on” as a group.
It was a dream debut for Chloe Sansom in the Swindon goal yesterday, as she kept a clean sheet after signing for the club just a few days earlier.
The 54-year-old spoke about his decision to throw Sansom straight into the starting lineup, stating,”It was a really tough call for me, because Mia [Smith] has been really, really good and professional; it’s nothing that she’s done wrong, but Chloe showed us something in training on Thursday that meant I had to make that decision. The save she made at the end to keep it at 2-0 was a massive moment for us; I’m delighted for her.”
Swindon will now enjoy a two-week break ahead of their next match against AFC Bournemouth. Wood spoke on his side’s plans for the break, saying, “I think the girls can soak up the win and feel good for a period of time, but obviously we’ll be working hard to move forward too. We’ll get Tori [St. Clair] back for that game, which strengthens us a bit, it’s nice that we can have a break and have ended on something positive when things have been so difficult.”
