Albion Women head coach Siobhan Hodgetts-Still believes her side were “ruthless" in their 7-1 success over Sutton Coldfield Town in the Birmingham County FA Challenge Cup.
The Baggies cruised to a comfortable win at the Valley Stadium on Sunday, a victory which secured their progression into the quarter-final of the competition.
The triumph took their total to 14 goals scored across their last three games in all competitions – a tally Hodgetts-Still is pleased with.
She said: "I thought we dominated the game for large parts if I’m honest. I think in possession, the way we progressed up the pitch was excellent.
"In and around the box, we created some very good moments and opportunities, especially in the second half. I thought it could’ve been more and we were ruthless and continued scoring our goals.
"We’ve been working on that in training over the last couple of weeks in terms of being clinical in and around the box.
"Today I thought we scored some well-worked goals. We could’ve had a few more but we scored seven and that’s an improvement on previous performances."
New Albion signing Maddie Oliver joined the club on a dual registration basis from Manchester City in the nick of time to make her debut on Sunday, and she was thrilled to do so.
"It’s exciting to get started and get into the matchday squad for the first time," Oliver said. "I’ve enjoyed getting to know the girls better, and I’m hoping for more minutes in the tank coming up.
"For me, it was a no-brainer to come here because of how we play, I know we play good football and try to get forward as much as possible. It’s how I like to play, as attacking as possible so I felt it was a good match.
"First impressions are important and I was making sure I kept up with the game and put in a good shift. Hopefully, I can make more and more of an impact."
Competition for spots in the starting XI is strong, and Hodgetts-Still believes this can only be a positive factor heading into an Adobe Women’s FA Cup clash against Worcester City next weekend.
"We have a big squad and competition is high, which makes training very competitive and brings out the best in players," Hodgetts-Still said. "That’s what we want in training, we want that competitiveness and we want players to feel challenged.
"That’s where performances come from, in all cups, and we want to progress in every competition we play in. There were times that Sutton caused us problems and Worcester will be the same."
Oliver agrees, and understands that she’ll have to earn her place in Hodgetts-Still’s XI moving forward.
She said: "There’s nothing wrong with healthy competition, there are some great players in this squad, especially in my position. It does make it more difficult but that’s football and you have to fight for your spot.
"I’m not expecting to walk into the starting XI, however, as the weeks go by and I get more and more opportunities, I'll be doing all I can get in there."
