West Brom Women dispatched Stoke City 2-0 at the Alexander Stadium in the FA Women’s National League Cup.
Goals from Phoebe Warner and Monique Robinson sealed the Baggies’ place in the next round, with Siobhan Hodgetts-Still impressed by her side’s attacking first half and resilient second.
“I’m really pleased that we’re through to the next round,” said the head coach. “Really proud of the girls’ performance today. I thought the first half, for the first 45 minutes, I thought it was brilliant. Stuck to the game plan, pressed the moment and scored two really good goals.
“The second half, I thought we made it quite transitional, which left a lot of spaces open and gave Stoke chances to get back in the game. Some brilliant defending and goalkeeping obviously kept us in it. I thought we managed it, and it’s another clean sheet and another win.”
A gritty second half saw the Midlands side hold onto their 2-0 lead and keep another clean sheet, with Hodgetts-Still pleased to see a different side to her team.
“I think that’s what we have got to our game. I think we’re excellent in terms of out of possession and defending the area, defending the box, and you saw that second half today.
“People putting bodies on the line, winning headers, and tackles. We had to dig deep in the last 10 minutes, obviously with Fran Orthodoxou getting sent off, but we did that, and everyone worked and everyone grafted to see out the win and the clean sheet.”
West Brom enter a busy run of fixtures with the chance to progress in multiple cups, and Hodgetts-Still wants to see another gear from her side, viewing it as a great opportunity to push on.
“We want to progress in all competitions, and this is a step in the right direction for that. We’ve got another cup game next week, and that’s going to face different problems.
“I think there’s going to be some changes and some chances for other people to get made. We’re looking forward to the next couple of weeks. We’ve got some big games, but also it’s a good opportunity for us to go and progress in cups and go as far as we can.”
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