Albion Women head coach Siobhan Hodgetts-Still believes her side made proceedings “hard” for themselves in their defeat to Sporting Khalsa on Sunday.
The Baggies took a lead inside 60 seconds through forward Ellie May, but were pegged back and ultimately downed by two Laura Smith strikes before half-time.
As the first battle in a three-game week, Hodgetts-Still is keen to learn from the contest quickly as they turn their attentions towards Stourbridge in midweek.
“I thought we started off well, we got the early goal and had some promising attacks,” Hodgetts-Still said. “Some of the decisions went against us today and we felt that changed the momentum of the game which allowed Khalsa to get back into it.
“After Khalsa scored, we allowed them to get the upper hand, they defended their box well, competed and won their individual duels. Their second goal was a great finish. They punished us for not defending that corner as we should.
“I still think we had some really good spells in possession, but when it went into the final third, the quality and decision-making needed to be better. That’s been the story of our last three games and we need to be better in both boxes.”
“It’s a positive that the Stourbridge game is coming so quickly. We can turn this around and we’ve got to instil confidence in the girls on Wednesday.
“There are three points on the table and that’s what we want. It’s a big game, and we’re ready to face it.”
Defender Ella Haughey agrees and says they must have clear “focus” on Wednesday night’s clash at the War Memorial Ground.
“I just think it was our lack of decisiveness in final third that let us down today to be honest. We built well and got into the box, but credit to Khalsa, they defended their box really well. What we created just wasn’t enough.
“The last few weeks have been hard, but I think good teams know how to bounce back from it. Shev and the coaching staff will get around us and we have to move on.
“I’m glad that we have a match in midweek to make it right to be honest. It’s a huge game for us. Heads need to be high and we need a big performance.
“We need to have clear focus on Wednesday, keep positive heads and make sure we win.”
