Albion Women head coach Siobhan Hodgetts-Still says she doesn’t believe the 3-0 scoreline against Stoke City “reflects” her team’s performance on Sunday.
The Baggies created plenty going forward but were undone by a first-half penalty and two long-range strikes in the second period from the hosts.
Hodgetts-Still, while acknowledging the Potters’ quality, believes her side deserved more from the FAWNL Northern Premier Division clash.
“I don’t really think the scoreline reflects the result and performance that the girls put in,” Hodgetts-Still said.
“I thought Stoke had a lot of the ball in the first half and created some good chances.
“In the second half we came out, were positive, and on the front foot – we created a few good moments. We weren’t clinical enough in and around the final third and they went down the other end and scored two fantastic goals that you just have to applaud and give credit for.
“I’m proud of the girls for their performance and there’s definitely some work to do in possession. We speak all the time about having to be better in possession and in and around the final third.
“We’re not going to get many moments in the game so it’s important to be clinical with the ones we did have. If we score the chances we had in the second half in those moments, it could’ve been a very different game.
“They then went up the other end and scored a great goal from the edge of the box, you have to applaud the quality there. We need to be better in the final third, whether that’s decision-making, we have to be more proactive.
“The individual quality needs to be better and it’s the same messages that I’m giving. Like always, we’ll go away and work out solutions and how we can put those things right.”
“I’d never question the girls’ work rate, like you said we’ve gone toe to toe with a good Stoke team. They were physical and moved the ball well, I thought we worked against that excellently.”
The Baggies will look to get back to winning ways when they travel to Knowle Ladies in the first round of the FA Cup next Sunday.
“They’ll bring different challenges, we don’t know too much about them but we’ll find out how we can be successful,” the head coach said. “It’s a great opportunity to show what we can do in possession and progress in the FA Cup.
“I’m excited for it to start, it’s always a big occasion and we want to progress and go as far as we can. It starts with Knowle but firstly we’ve got to reflect on today and put those wrongs, right.”
Captain Hannah George is looking forward to another competitive cup fixture, with hopes of progressing deep into the competition.
She said: “The FA Cup is a completely different competition, we love playing in the FA Cup. We’ll regroup again in training, work hard and take each game as it comes.
“We need to put things right on the pitch to get where we want to in the FA Cup. We’d like to thank our fans for their support, it’s always appreciated and we hope to see many of them backing us.”
