# 2023–24 Nottingham Forest W.F.C. season

The 2023–24 season was Nottingham Forest Women's sixth consecutive season in the FA Women's National League Northern Premier Division, which stands at level three of the women's football league pyramid.
Prior to the beginning of the season Nottingham Forest Women were fully integrated into the wider football department of Nottingham Forest moving to a professional hybrid model for the 2023/24 season as phase one of a strategy to create a full-time professional team.
This transition brought multiple changes to the clubs staff. Amber Wildgust was appointed as Head of Women's and Girls Football, Carly Davies was appointed as Head Coach and Dave Long was appointed as Head of Girls Academy.
This was the first season that the club used Grange Park in Long Eaton as their main home ground after 4 years at Halbrooke Stadium in Eastwood.
Forest started the season strongly with successive league victories over Stourbridge (home, 7-0), West Bromwich Albion (away, 1-4), and AFC Fylde (home, 3-1) and a 5-0 away win against Solihull Moors to progress to the FA Women’s National League Cup first round and defend their 2022-2023 crown.
September and October proved to be challenging for Carly Davies’ side, however, with an FA Women’s National League Cup second-round home 2-1 win over Wolverhampton Wanderers and home 5-0 league win over Liverpool Feds sitting between league defeats over promotion rivals Burnley (away, 4-2), local rivals Derby County at (home, 1-2), and a Women’s National League Cup third-round away 3-0 defeat against eventual beaten finalists Newcastle United. Forest responded by winning 10 of their next 11 matches including four Women's FA Cup wins against Sheffield FC (home, 7-0), Sporting Khalsa (home, 3-2), Boldmere St Michaels (home, 3-1) and Plymouth Argyle (away, 1-6) to set up a fifth-round proper tie against Women’s Super League outfit Everton. This run (of which the only loss was a 0-1 home defeat against league leaders Newcastle United) left the side in 2nd place (four points behind Newcastle).
Carly Davies’ side was unable to take their momentum from eight consecutive wins into the Women’s FA Cup fifth-round tie against Everton with the Women’s Super League side running out comfortable 1-7 winners at Grange Park with Forest generating £123,000 in revenue from their furthest run in the competition since the 2012-2013 season. Forest was unable to rebuild the momentum they created between November 2023 and February 2024 for their final nine FA Women’s National League Northern Premier League fixtures and took only 17 points from a possible 27 and finished their title defence in 3rd place on 47 points (1 point behind 2nd placed Burnley and 12 points behind champions Newcastle United), missing out on promotion to the Women’s Championship for another season.

## Squad information
### First team squad

    As of 9 March 2024
| No. | Name | Date of birth (Age) | Since | Signed from |
| Goalkeepers ||||||
| 1 | Emily Batty | (1998-11-02) 2 November 1998 (age 26) | 18 July 2021 | Sheffield United |
| 18 | Aja Aguirre | (1991-11-18) 18 November 1991 (age 33) | 1 July 2019 | Aston Villa |
| 34 | Holly Mears | (2006-01-16) 16 January 2006 (age 18) | 13 January 2024 | Leicester City |
| Defenders ||||||
| 2 | Lyndsey Harkin | (1991-08-30) 30 August 1991 (age 33) | 1 February 2016 | Doncaster Rovers Belles |
| 3 | Nat Johnson | (1993-11-12) 12 November 1993 (age 31) | 10 August 2023 | Lewes |
| 5 | Olivia Cook | (2001-01-10) 10 January 2001 (age 23) | 1 July 2019 | Doncaster Rovers Belles |
| 11 | Chloe Dixon | (1996-07-12) 12 July 1996 (age 28) | 19 August 2023 | Blackburn Rovers |
| 15 | Laura-Jayne O'Neill | (1994-12-01) 1 December 1994 (age 30) | 1 July 2017 | Notts County |
| 21 | Hayley James | (1995-07-17) 17 July 1995 (age 29) | 1 August 2020 | Leicester City |
| 24 | Ella Haughey | (2004-07-15) 15 July 2004 (age 20) | 20 October 2023 | Lisburn Rovers |
| 32 | Abi Cowie | (2004-05-20) 20 May 2004 (age 20) | 16 August 2023 | Birmingham City |
| Midfielders ||||||
| 6 | Lauren McMurchie | (1992-01-06) 6 January 1992 (age 32) | 1 March 2024 | Onyx F.C. |
| 10 | Holly Manders | (2001-04-28) 28 April 2001 (age 23) | 2 August 2023 | Sunderland |
| 12 | Niamh Reynolds | (2001-10-31) 31 October 2001 (age 23) | 1 August 2020 | Reading |
| 16 | Mollie Green | (1997-08-04) 4 August 1997 (age 27) | 5 August 2023 | Birmingham City |
| 17 | Freya Thomas | (2001-10-28) 28 October 2001 (age 23) | 7 August 2023 | Coventry United |
| 19 | Becky Anderson | - | 2 July 2021 | Coventry United |
| 25 | Alice Keitley | (2003-07-04) 4 July 2003 (age 21) | 6 October 2023 | Aston Villa |
| 36 | Lily Stevenson | - | - | Academy |
| Forwards ||||||
| 7 | Sophie Domingo | (2000-01-07) 7 January 2000 (age 24) | 1 July 2022 | Derby County |
| 8 | Mai Moncaster | (2001-08-14) 14 August 2001 (age 23) | 1 September 2019 | Leicester City |
| 14 | Louanne Worsey | (2005-05-18) 18 May 2005 (age 19) | 16 September 2023 | Birmingham City |
| 22 | Charlotte Greengrass | - | 1 September 2020 | Aston Villa |

## Squad Changes
### Transfers In

| Date | Pos. | Player | From | Fee |
| 2 August 2023 | MF | Holly Manders | Sunderland | Free agent |
| 5 August 2023 | MF | Mollie Green | Birmingham City | Free agent |
| 7 August 2023 | MF | Freya Thomas | Coventry United | Free agent |
| 10 August 2023 | DF | Natalie Johnson | Lewes | Free agent |
| 19 August 2023 | DF | Chloe Leigh Dixon | Blackburn Rovers | Free agent |
| 20 October 2023 | DF | Ella Haughey | Lisburn Rangers | Free agent |
| 9 March 2024 | MF | Lauren McMurchie | Onyx F.C. | Free agent |

### Transfers Out

| Date | Pos. | Player | To | Fee | Ref. |

### Loans In

| Date from | Pos. | Player | From | Duration |
| 16 September 2023 | DF | Abi Louise Cowie | Birmingham City | Season-long loan |
| 16 September 2023 | FW | Louanne Worsey | Birmingham City | Season-long loan |
| 6 October 2023 | MF | Alice Keitley | Aston Villa | Season-long loan |
| 13 January 2024 | GK | Holly Mears | Leicester City | Season-long loan |
* ↑ dual-registration loan
* ↑ dual-registration loan

### Loans Out

| Date from | Pos. | Player | To | Duration | Ref. |

### Released

| Date | Pos. | Player | Subsequent club | Date signed |
| 30 June 2023 | FW | Iris Achterhof | Retired | Retired |
| 30 June 2023 | DF | Aryanna Daniels | Retired | Retired |
| 30 June 2023 | DF | Georgia Hewitt | Loughborough Lightning | |
| 30 June 2023 | DF | Emily Jacobs | Loughborough Lightning | |
| 30 June 2023 | FW | Gianna Mitchell | Retired | Retired |
| 30 June 2023 | FW | Yasmin Mosby | Derby County | 29 July 2023 |
| 30 June 2023 | MF | Naomi Powell | Hibernian | 29 July 2023 |
| 30 June 2023 | MF | Charlotte Steggles | Derby County | 29 July 2023 |
| 30 June 2023 | MF | Rosetta Taylor | Adelaide United | 28 September 2023 |
| 30 June 2023 | MF | Amy West | Retired | Retired |

### New contracts

| Date | Pos. | Player | Contract length |
| 21 July 2023 | MF | Becky Anderson | One year |
| 21 July 2023 | GK | Emily Batty | One year |
| 21 July 2023 | DF | Olivia Cook | One year |
| 21 July 2023 | FW | Charlotte Greengrass | One year |
| 21 July 2023 | DF | Lyndsey Harkin | One year |
| 21 July 2023 | DF | Hayley James | One year |
| 21 July 2023 | FW | Mai Moncaster | One year |
| 21 July 2023 | DF | Laura-Jayne O'Neill | One year |
| 21 July 2023 | MF | Niamh Reynolds | One year |
| 2 August 2023 | FW | Sophie Domingo | One year |
| 19 August 2023 | GK | Aja Aguirre | One year |

## Pre-season and friendlies

Win  Draw  Loss  Fixtures

## Competitions
### Overall record

| Competition | First match | Last match | Starting round | Final position | Record | Record | Record | Record | Record | Record | Record | Record |
| Competition | First match | Last match | Starting round | Final position | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Win % |
| WNL Northern Premier Division | 20 August 2023 | 05 May 2024 | Matchday 1 | 3rd | 22 | 15 | 2 | 5 | 59 | 21 | +38 | 068.18 |
| Women's FA Cup | 12 November 2023 | 11 February 2024 | First round | Fifth round | 5 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 20 | 11 | +9 | 080.00 |
| WNL Cup | 27 August 2023 | 29 October 2023 | Determining round | Second round | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 3 | +4 | 066.67 |
| Total | Total | Total | Total | Total | 30 | 21 | 2 | 7 | 86 | 35 | +51 | 070.00 |
Source: Soccerway

### FA Women's National League Northern Premier Division
#### League table

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Newcastle United (C, P) | 22 | 19 | 2 | 1 | 79 | 11 | +68 | 59 | Promotion to Championship |
| 2 | Burnley | 22 | 15 | 3 | 4 | 54 | 21 | +33 | 48 | |
| 3 | Nottingham Forest | 22 | 15 | 2 | 5 | 59 | 21 | +38 | 47 | |
| 4 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | 22 | 14 | 2 | 6 | 58 | 24 | +34 | 44 | |
| 5 | Stoke City | 22 | 10 | 4 | 8 | 41 | 37 | +4 | 34 | |

#### Results summary

| Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Home | Home | Home | Home | Home | Home | Away | Away | Away | Away | Away | Away |
Source: Soccerway

#### Results by round

| Round | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 |
| Ground | H | A | H | A | H | H | H | H | A | H | A | H | A | A | H | H | A | A | A | A | A | H |
| Result | W | W | W | L | L | W | W | L | W | W | W | W | W | D | W | W | D | W | W | L | L | W |
| Position | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 |
| Points | 3 | 6 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 12 | 15 | 15 | 18 | 21 | 24 | 27 | 30 | 31 | 34 | 37 | 38 | 41 | 44 | 44 | 44 | 47 |

#### Matches

Win  Draw  Loss  Fixtures

### Women's FA Cup
#### Matches

Win  Draw  Loss  Fixtures

### FA Women's National League Cup
#### Matches

Win  Draw  Loss  Fixtures

## Statistics

    As of 25 July 2024

### Overall

| No. | Pos. | Player | League | League | League | League | FA Cup | FA Cup | FA Cup | FA Cup | League Cup | League Cup | League Cup | League Cup | Total | Total | Total | Total |
| 1 | GK | Emily Batty | 22 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 28 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 2 | DF | Lyndsey Harkin | 22 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 29 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 3 | DF | Natalie Johnson | 21 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 28 | 7 | 3 | 0 |
| 5 | DF | Olivia Cook | 9 (5) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 (1) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 (1) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 13 (7) | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 6 | MF | Lauren McMurchie | 0 (1) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 (1) | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 7 | FW | Sophie Domingo | 16 (4) | 7 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 (1) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 21 (5) | 9 | 2 | 0 |
| 8 | FW | Mai Moncaster | 13 (9) | 4 | 1 | 0 | 3 (2) | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2 (1) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 18 (12) | 7 | 1 | 0 |
| 10 | MF | Holly Manders | 22 | 11 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 28 | 16 | 2 | 0 |
| 11 | DF | Chloe Leigh Dixon | 3 (6) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 (4) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 (2) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 5 (12) | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 12 | MF | Niamh Reynolds | 0 (7) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 (2) | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 (2) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 (11) | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| 14 | FW | Louanne Worsey | 10 (6) | 8 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 16 (6) | 14 | 2 | 1 |
| 15 | DF | Laura-Jayne O'Neill | 1 (3) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 (1) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 (2) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 (6) | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 16 | MF | Mollie Green | 17 (1) | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 (1) | 2 | 0 | 0 | 23 (2) | 4 | 1 | 1 |
| 17 | MF | Freya Thomas | 21 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 28 | 5 | 3 | 0 |
| 18 | GK | Aja Aguirre | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 19 | MF | Becky Anderson | 22 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 30 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| 21 | DF | Hayley James | 4 (1) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 (1) | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 22 | FW | Charlotte Greengrass | 17 (2) | 13 | 1 | 0 | 2 (2) | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 21 (4) | 15 | 1 | 0 |
| 24 | DF | Ella Haughey | 3 (5) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 (1) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 (6) | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 25 | MF | Alice Keitley | 3 (2) | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 (3) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 (5) | 4 | 0 | 0 |
| 32 | DF | Abi Louise Cowie | 16 (2) | 0 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 20 (2) | 0 | 5 | 0 |
| 34 | GK | Holly Mears | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 36 | MF | Lily Stevenson | 0 (1) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 (1) | 0 | 0 | 0 |

### Goalscorers

| Rank | No. | Pos. | Player | League | FA Cup | League Cup | Total |
| 1 | 10 | MF | Holly Manders | 11 | 1 | 4 | 16 |
| 2 | 22 | FW | Charlotte Greengrass | 13 | 2 | 0 | 15 |
| 3 | 14 | FW | Louanne Worsey | 8 | 6 | 0 | 14 |
| 4 | 7 | FW | Sophie Domingo | 7 | 2 | 0 | 9 |
| 5 | 3 | DF | Natalie Johnson | 6 | 1 | 0 | 7 |
| 5 | 8 | FW | Mai Moncaster | 4 | 3 | 0 | 7 |
| 7 | 17 | MF | Freya Thomas | 4 | 1 | 0 | 5 |
| 8 | 16 | MF | Mollie Green | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 |
| 8 | 25 | MF | Alice Keitley | 3 | 1 | 0 | 4 |
| 10 | 12 | MF | Niamh Reynolds | 1 | 2 | 0 | 3 |
| 11 | 11 | DF | Chloe Leigh Dixon | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| Totals | Totals | Totals | Totals | 59 | 20 | 7 | 86 |

### Assists

| Rank | No. | Pos. | Player | League | FA Cup | League Cup | Total |
| 1 | 7 | FW | Sophie Domingo | 13 | 5 | 0 | 18 |
| 2 | 22 | FW | Charlotte Greengrass | 4 | 2 | 0 | 6 |
| 2 | 8 | FW | Mai Moncaster | 4 | 0 | 2 | 6 |
| 4 | 17 | MF | Freya Thomas | 3 | 1 | 1 | 5 |
| 5 | 19 | MF | Becky Anderson | 2 | 1 | 1 | 4 |
| 5 | 16 | MF | Mollie Green | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| 5 | 10 | MF | Holly Manders | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| 5 | 14 | FW | Louanne Worsey | 2 | 2 | 0 | 4 |
| 9 | 32 | DF | Abi Louise Cowie | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 9 | 11 | DF | Chloe Leigh Dixon | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| 9 | 2 | DF | Lyndsey Harkin | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 9 | 24 | DF | Ella Haughey | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| 9 | 21 | DF | Hayley James | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 9 | 3 | DF | Natalie Johnson | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| 9 | 25 | MF | Alice Keitley | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| 16 | 5 | DF | Olivia Cook | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Totals | Totals | Totals | Totals | 45 | 16 | 5 | 66 |

### Clean sheets

| Rank | No. | Pos. | Player | League | FA Cup | League Cup | Total |
| 1 | 1 | GK | Emily Batty | 9 | 0 | 2 | 11 |
| 2 | 18 | GK | Aja Aguirre | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Totals | Totals | Totals | Totals | 9 | 1 | 2 | 12 |

### Hat-tricks

| Player | Against | Result | Date | Competition | Ref. |
| Charlotte Greengrass | Stourbridge (H) | 7 – 0 | 20 August 2023 | WNL Northern Premier Division | |
| Charlotte Greengrass | Liverpool Feds (H) | 5 – 0 | 15 October 2023 | WNL Northern Premier Division | |

## Awards
### e-on Player of the Month

Awarded by an online vote of supporters on the official Nottingham Forest F.C. website.
| Month | Player |
| April | Freya Thomas |
| March | Holly Manders |
| February | Natalie Johnson |
| January | Alice Keitley |