Albion Women Manager Siobhan Hodgetts-Still believes her side were undone by a “preventable” 15 minutes in their 5-0 defeat to Wolves on Sunday.
The Baggies showed plenty of promise before they conceded three goals in a short spell at Molineux.
Hodgetts-Still insists her side were in the game until that point, but admitted the hosts’ ruthlessness became telling.
“I thought in the first half we competed,” Hodgetts-Still said. “We made things difficult for them in the early stages and we were caught from a corner.
“In the second half there was a 10-15 minute period where I don't think we were good enough and I think the team know that. We’ve set high standards against some of the better teams in the league and we know we could’ve done more with the ball.
“Teams like Wolves, who are competing for the Championship, will punish you if you give them half a chance. The three goals came within 15 minutes which was a massive blow, and you felt at that point the game really changed.
“We can own our mistakes, and we’ll look back at those three goals in particular and know we could’ve done more to prevent them. Today, they were ruthless going forwards and in and around the box, and that's what's won them the game.”
Striker Rhianne Oakley agrees but maintains her side will “stay together” following a tough result against their Black Country rivals.
“We need to keep our heads up, we need to stay together,” Oakley said. “It’s a tough loss, a real tough one to take, especially as it’s a derby and nobody wants to lose 5-0.
“It’s really frustrating and I don’t believe we deserved to lose 5-0. We came out strong in the first half, we went in at half-time still in the game.
“I just believe we dropped our heads a bit in the second half and the more the goals went in, the more we lost our focus in the game.
“We need to make sure that with the games we’ve got coming up in the league, we stick together. We need to work together and we work on our principles in training to get it back to where we need it.”
The visit of Derby County next week is the final opportunity for Hodgetts-Still’s group to face a team outside of the current FA WNL Northern Premier top three this season – and she’s ready for the test.
“We will bounce back against Derby, in character and in performance,” Hodgetts-Still said. “That will come from detailed analysis and a good week in training.
“I’ll say it in every interview every week, but I am so certain and have the belief in what this team can do. Today is behind us and now our focus is on Derby.”
