DUDLEY United boss Andy Mulligan hailed new signing Emma Day as she starred in the 1-0 win over Bradwell Belles.

The 17-year-old centre back slotted straight into United’s defence with her new side down to the bare bones, having only 11 players available.

And Mulligan believes she was the player-of-the-match after United held off a second half fightback from the visitors after taking the lead through Kayleigh Griffiths.

He said: “Emma played brilliantly, she has been through the centre of excellence at Wolves but was deemed surplus to requirements, I can’t see why.

“Their loss is definitely our gain.

“It was a 1-0 win but that’s all we needed.

“We tried a few tricks by naming some players who weren’t there on the bench initially - just so Bradwell weren’t aware we only had 11.

“They started very gingerly and we dominated the first half and had lots of chances.

“As the game went on they got a bit more confident and in the end we were happy to take the three points.”

The win kept United top of the West Midlands Premier ahead of this weekend’s home clash with Kidderminster Harriers (Sunday 2pm).

They now lead Solihull by nine points and Mulligan believes the club will reap the benefits of their decision not to enter the FA Cup this year.

He said: “Solihull have three games in hand on us but they have to win those games with the pressure on.

“It’s a much more comfortable situation than last year, when we were in a similar position to them.

“We have 12 players to choose from this weekend but we are always confident of getting a result on our own pitch.”