Elated Albion Women head coach Siobhan Hodgetts-Still was “buzzing” to pick up a penalty shootout victory over Black Country rivals Wolves on Sunday.
The Baggies took the lead through Phoebe Warner but were pegged back by a Wanderers equaliser, before dramatic spot-kick heroics from goalkeeper Anna Miller saw them progress into the Birmingham County FA Challenge Cup semi-final.
Hodgetts-Still, a childhood Baggies fan, became the first Albion Women boss to win the local derby since 2019, a record she was glad to break.
“My smile says it all,” the head coach said. “Look, what a performance that was.
“We're absolutely buzzing to get the win. Not only for the players who deserved it, but for the staff and the club perspective.
“Credit to the players, I thought they were brilliant today. I thought we dominated the game and created some very good moments.
“First half we could have been two, or three up. Second half, we scored, and they scored to make it 1-1.
“I thought we didn't just scrape the win, I thought we really deserved the victory overall, even if it was on penalties. The celebrations at the end were brilliant and show just how together we are.
“Like I said, I'm a massive fan, so to go and get the win, and some of the players are as well, so to get the win, it means a lot. We're really happy to go into the next round of the cup.”
Fellow childhood Albion fan Izzy Green was delighted to pick up her first win against the Black Country rivals and commended her team-mate Anna Miller on her performance.
“I’m really emotional obviously being a big Albion fan myself as well,” Green said. “I think we really deserved it, throughout the whole game.
“It was disappointing that we obviously had to go to penalties after conceding that goal. Anna produced two really great saves and we were all absolutely delighted. It means so much and it's quite emotional.
“I was just saying to Shev as well, we could cry but no, that's just how much it means. It means everything to all the girls in there as well.
“We know what Anna can do. She pulls off great saves every week and she really deserves a moment like this.
“We all had faith in her and we knew that she’d pull through. Overall, it was a great performance.”
Miller’s shot-stopping heroics left the Baggies as victors, but it was the overall performance of the team that impressed her most.
“It's awesome, that's the first time I've beaten Wolves since I've been here,” Miller said. “So and you can see with Shev and Izzy, who are just Baggies through and through, how much it means to them. Making saves in the shootout was brilliant and I'm thrilled to be able to help us get through.
“It was awesome to be a part of that. I think we had a lot of the ball, especially in the first half, which was nice.
“We were able to get it down and play and play our game, and we're really getting into the swing of things now, which is super exciting.”
The Baggies are next in action after the Christmas break, on Sunday, January 5, where they take on Derby County at the Valley Stadium.
