Albion Women left it late to beat AFC Fylde in their FAWNL Northern Premier Division clash at the Valley Stadium on Sunday afternoon.
Jess Reavill’s goal, just seconds from the final whistle, secured all three points from a fiercely-contested encounter with their Lancashire opponents in Redditch.
The triumph pushed the Baggies up into fifth place in the division, level on points with local rivals Wolves who occupy fourth.
Head coach Siobhan Hodgetts-Still opted for an unchanged side from their battling display at Wolves in their last encounter.
The game began calmly, with the Baggies struggling to open up the resilient opposition defence. Chances soon came though, firstly from the right boot of Fran Orthodoxou who let fly from range before Lizzie Craven palmed away.
Delphi Cole also saw a shot saved by the goalkeeper from just inside the penalty area as the first 45 ended.
Albion were on the front foot in the early stages of the second half. Phoebe Warner showed some excellent footwork to evade her defender before unleashing a curling strike which narrowly missed the target.
It was then the turn of the defenders to exert pressure on the Fylde back line. Substitute Taylor Reynolds was left unmarked at the back post, but nodded just wide of the right-hand post.
As the game ticked into added time, Ash Brown pushed the ball past her defender to enter the visitors’ penalty area and fizzed a powerful shot towards the top corner, however Craven made smart stop to deny the full-back.
Despite that save, the Fylde stopper could do nothing to prevent the hosts finally grabbing the goal their display deserved moments later.
Warner floated a corner towards the back post and defender Reavill rose unchallenged to head home and secure three welcome points.
Albion Women are next in league action on Sunday, April 21 against Stoke City at the bet365 Stadium.
ALBION WOMEN: Miller, Brown, Reavill, Newell, George, Orthodoxou, Loydon, Warner, Jhamat (Reynolds 68’), Rabjohn (Mahmood 80’), Cole.
Unused subs: Jones, Green, Evans.
