WANDERERS women marched into their first cup final since their relaunch last summer with a dominant display against Preston North End.

Myles Smith’s side booked a showdown in the Challenge Cup at the County Ground in Leyland on Thursday, April 10, against divisional rivals Accrington Stanley thanks to second-half goals from Eboni Bradshaw and Faye Knox.

Wanderers had to stay patient as Preston looked to frustrate and contain for more than an hour but around 600 fans were sent home happy at Victory Park when Bradshaw finally broke the deadlock, finishing off a wonderful ball from Knox, who then headed home Eleanor Seals’ corner moments later to seal the victory.

A delighted Bolton boss Smith said his side had thoroughly deserved to go through.

He said: “If you watch the game we completely dominated it and I don’t think they had a chance that I can remember. We had the ball all game and we just had to keep working them down.

“When a team comes in and plays a low block, 10-11 players behind the ball, then you just have to keep knocking on the door.

“I’m really proud of them for their discipline because often in those games when you start to get to 60-70 minutes it can be very easy to come away from the gameplan and try and do your own thing but we didn’t we stuck to the gameplan.

“We asked the girls to trust the process and they kept trying, moving the ball and we broke through with a bit of individual brilliance from Faye.

“The game was ours from that point.”

Wanderers had brought back influential keeper Annabelle White and the talismanic captain Katie Holt, who had not featured since the win against Wigan Athletic in the previous round.

Smith enthused: “She is incredible – I’ll use the word ‘mothers’ but the way she mothers this team, every single one of them look up to her,” he said. “She hasn’t kicked a ball in two or three weeks but came back into training this week and we decided we wanted to put her straight in.

“She’s a rock at the back for us, we can rely on her, trust her, and what she brings in possession is incredible.

“Everyone has contributed today and I am extremely proud. It was a dominant performance.

“I’m buzzing for the girls to be in the final. They deserve it.”