Albion Women fell to a narrow defeat 2-1 at Stoke City in their penultimate FA WNL Northern Premier Division fixture on Sunday.
The Baggies opened the scoring through Delphi Cole after just 10 minutes, before two Stoke strikes before the half-time whistle from Roisin Kivel and Heidi Logan sent them ahead.
They could’ve got back into the game after the break, and Simran Jhamat missed a penalty kick for the visitors, who were unable to find an equaliser.
Albion have one game left of the season when they welcome league champions Newcastle United to the Valley Stadium.
Head coach Siobhan Hodgetts-Still made a single change to the side that last played a competitive game, as Izzy Green came in for the unavailable Lucy Newell in defence.
The Baggies took the lead inside the opening 10 minutes, Phoebe Warner swung in a corner which was opportunistically met at the back post by Cole to break the deadlock.
But they couldn’t extend their early advantage, leaving Stoke to craft a response. Captain Kivel stroked home a shot from the edge of the area, and then they turned the game on its head not long after. Logan was sent away via a searching ball and slotted past Anna Miller for 2-1.
Albion could have equalised just before the break, Jhamat hit one from range, only to see it graze the crossbar and eventually get caught by Georgie Ferguson in the hosts’ goal.
Within a minute of the clash's resumption following the interval, Cole was floored in the penalty area – and the referee pointed to the spot. Jhamat stepped up to take, however dragged her effort wide from 12 yards.
The Baggies continued to turn the screw, firstly through Hannah George who flicked Liv Rabjohn’s free-kick inches over the bar.
Yet Albion couldn’t break down the Stoke defence despite their efforts and eventually succumbed to defeat when the game ebbed away at the Bet365 Stadium.
They will hope to bounce back on Sunday, May 5 when they take on Newcastle United in their final game of the campaign.
Albion Women: Miller, Brown, Green, Reavill, George, Loydon, Orthodoxou, Rabjohn, Warner, Jhamat, Cole.
Substitutes: Jones, Mahmood, Whittick, Evans, Reynolds.