Norwich City Women are hoping that a return to Carrow Road for their final league game of the season can be a springboard for a strong promotion push next term.
Andy Cook’s side are second in the table ahead of the game against Queen’s Park Rangers on 27 April, but cannot catch champions Real Bedford, no matter what result they achieve.
They have won their last six in a row in WNL Division One South East, but a run of three successive defeats in November and December undermined their hopes of success this season.
“The turnaround we’ve had since Christmas is like an achievement in itself. Obviously, we wanted that promotion but sometimes it doesn’t go your way,” midfielder Eloise Morran told BBC Radio Norfolk.
“We’ve finished this season really strong and we’ve got the game to go to really end it on a high note.
“It’s really encouraging for next season. We’ve been through the experience of having a rough patch. As a squad, there’s a lot of youngsters in it and we are learning so much about how we can bounce back as quickly as possible from setbacks.”
They appeared at Carrow Road for the first time in April 2023 after becoming fully integrated with Norwich City FC the previous year, and league games against QPR and Cambridge United were played there last season.
But the team’s only appearance at Carrow Road so far in 2024-25 was for a WNL Cup game against Ipswich Town, from a level higher up the women’s pyramid, which they lost 4-0.
“These are the games you live for. We’ve had some amazing attendances in the past and hopefully we’ll get that again this time,” said Scotland Under-19 international Morran.
“There’s nothing like the feeling of the crowd behind you when we score, you feel like everyone is with you and the support is immense.
“I don’t think there will be anyone in our squad who is not desperate to score at Carrow Road but at the end of the day, we want it more for the team.”
Norwich drew both league games this season against Real Bedford – the club backed by bitcoin investors the Winkelvoss twins.
Moran added: “The performances we’ve put up against them have been really good. We’ve shown there’s no reason we can’t compete at that level, if not higher.
“One of the big things we’ve taken this year is game by game, everyone focuses on the final destination but it is really a journey, it’s a long old season and you’ve got to be consistent throughout.
“There’s been a lot of takeaways from this season which will hopefully help us for next year.”
Following the match against QPR later this month, Norwich will return to Carrow Road in May to take on Mulbarton Wanderers in the County Cup final.
