West Bromwich Albion Women’s head coach Siobhan Hodgetts-Still said, “We need to be better in both boxes” after their 2-1 league loss away at Sporting Khalsa.
Hodgetts-Still’s side are without a win in three straight FA Women’s National League Northern Premier Division and will now be looking over their shoulder in a relegation battle.
Albion started well, scoring after 58 seconds through Ellie May and Hodgetts-Still was pleased with the start, “We started off well and created really good chances. The first goal was a pattern that we’ve been looking at.”
Despite their early lead, the Baggies never managed to grab a foothold in the game again and a seventh-minute Laura Smith penalty saw Sporting Khalsa draw level.
The boss has her say on the weekend's defeat. 🗣 pic.twitter.com/5MC4VpQ63y
— West Bromwich Albion Women (@WBAWomen) February 3, 2025
“After Khalsa scored, we allowed them to get the upper hand back on us. They defended their box well, competed and won their individual duels.
“Then their second goal was a great finish, they punished us for not defending that corner as we should,” Hodgetts-Still said in response to Smith’s beautiful curling effort over Anna Miller into the far top corner after a well-worked Sporting Khalsa routine adding her and Khalsa’s second of the game.
The hosts defended their lead well throughout the rest of the game but weren’t challenged consistently enough by the Baggies’ attacking play.
Hodgetts-Still was left frustrated by the final third play, “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.
“They defended really well, and protected the danger area really well, competed for everything and won their duels.
“Again, we haven’t been good enough in both boxes. It’s something we collectively need to go away and look at.”
🫡@WatkinsSeren | #WBA pic.twitter.com/rO339GS8Kg
— West Bromwich Albion Women (@WBAWomen) February 7, 2025
The Baggies boss wanted to see more of her side in the danger area, “I think we’ve had a few opportunities with shots at the goalkeeper. We haven’t worked them as much as we’d liked to.
“It’s something we have to look at, we’ve got to turn up and want to win games of football. We need to look at ourselves and be better to help the team.”
Albion sit eighth in the table, seven points clear of Stourbridge in the final relegation place, ahead of the two clubs meeting on Wednesday evening.
Fullback Ella Haughey says the group needs to show they’re a good team with their response to this tough run, “The last three weeks have been hard, but good teams know how to bounce back from adversity.
“Siobhan and the coaching staff will get around us and we just need to forget about this one now and move on to Wednesday with full focus on that game because it’s a must-win now.”
— West Bromwich Albion Women (@WBAWomen) February 4, 2025
Haughey and Hodgetts-Still are both relishing the opportunity to put their bad run of form to rest against Black Country rivals Stourbridge.
Hodgetts-Still said, “It’s a positive that we’re playing them so quickly. We can turn this around and we’ve got to instil confidence in the girls on Tuesday.
“There are three points up for grabs and that’s what we want. It’s a big game, and we’re ready to face it.”
Haughey added, “I’m glad we have a match that gives us the opportunity to make this right so quickly, we can’t let our heads drop now, it is a must-win so our heads need to be held high and we need big performances on Wednesday.”
The Stourbridge trip begins a big week for the Baggies with their trip to Stourbridge followed by a Birmingham County FA Cup semi-final at home against Aston Villa under-21s on Sunday.
Haughey insisted that the group won’t be looking too far ahead though, “We’ve just got to take it one game, Stourbridge first is a massive game in itself, that’s like a cup final, and once that game is finished then we’ll focus on the semi-final at the weekend.”
