Kate Mallin optimistic over Huddersfield Town Women prospects after winning start
The Terriers claimed a 3-2 win away to Blackburn in the cup after winning their opening league game at the weekend
Huddersfield Town kicked off their WNL Cup group stage with a 3-2 victory away to Blackburn Rovers — despite the hosts’ spirited first-half fightback to level things up from two goals down.
The victory was ultimately inspired by the long-serving Kate Mallin, who celebrated her birthday by pulling the strings in the final third and teeing up the winning goal.
For Mallin, putting in yet another season for the Terriers was an easy decision. She explained: “I’m 36 today and it’s all I’ve ever known. I want to get Town back into tier three where I think we belong.
“We’ve got some really good new players — Bethan Davies, Louise Biggins, Alise Gindra — and Hannah Burgess has come through from the devs and she’s been brilliant. We’ve got a couple like Laura Elford who haven’t even played yet, but they’re quality players.”
Mallin is particularly pleased to see the goals being shared around the team, with this 3-2 victory coming on the heels of beating Doncaster Belles 3-0 on the opening day of the new league season.
New arrival Gindra bagged a brace on her debut at the weekend, while here Ella Duffield got her first goal for the club since joining last summer and full-back Serena Fletcher claimed a rare goal to double the lead.
After Blackburn came back to restore parity, centre-back Beth Ibbotson then headed home the winner from Mallin’s brilliant crossed free kick — her second goal in as many games.
“We’re getting goals and assists from all of the team,” Mallin said. “We’re not just relying on one or two players; we’re getting them from different areas.”
Duffield got Town off to a perfect start by catching the Blackburn keeper wrong-footed with a strike to the bottom corner following good work from Molly Firth up the right wing.
Felicity Jones went close to doubling Town’s lead shortly after, but her header off a ball in from the left was tipped onto the post and then cleared away before the rebound could trickle over the line.
Town’s excellent start continued as left-back Fletcher raced onto Beth Stanfield’s through ball into the box, pressured a defender off the ball, and poked into the far bottom corner for 2-0.
But Blackburn were buoyed by being awarded a penalty against the run of player just a few minutes later, with Beth Ibbotson inadvertently bringing the pacy Ellie Rice down inside the box after seeming to get her studs caught in the ground while trying to make a clean tackle.
Rice stepped up to convert that spot kick, and Blackburn began to counter-attack with much more confidence.
Rebecca Beresford raced back superbly to stop Rovers from getting clean through on goalkeeper Bethan Davies, but the equaliser came shortly before the break as Town were unable to stop Rice from getting in behind again and putting an unstoppable low finish into the bottom corner.
Town went in half time needing to shake off the double setback of surrendering their two-goal lead and losing Firth to injury, but they re-established control of the game after the interval and looked the most likely winners.
As Mallin put it: “We played well in patches, but we had a bit of a sloppy 20 minutes.
“But we pulled through in the second half and played some quite good football. We probably should have scored more than three goals.”
Blackburn looked vulnerable to Mallin’s set piece deliveries, and Louise Biggins will have been disappointed to nod wide after climbing to win a free header just four minutes after the restart.
That dead-ball threat paid off 15 minutes from time, however, with Mallin curling a fabulous free kick into the box from deep on the left to set up Ibbotson for a well-won header into the back of the net.
Town kept on the pressure in a bid to kill the game off once and for all as a new-look Blackburn side tired.
Jones went agonisingly close to netting a fourth for Town after Mallin jinked into the box and fired across the face of goal, but her slide across the turf was just a fraction too short to apply the finishing touch.
But it was immaterial in the end, with Blackburn posing no real threat in response as Town saw out the game.
This Sunday, Town will return to league action with a tough test against Cheadle Town Stingers, who were pipped to promotion on goal difference alone last season.