Joe Roberts

Tue 17 October 2023 20:20, UK

Siobhan Hodgetts-Still faces a selection headache after her seven changes to her West Brom secured a 5-0 victory over Leafield Athletic.

The Baggies romped to their biggest win of the season and a crucial win in the Birmingham FA Women’s Challenge Cup at the Academy Ground on Sunday (15 October) to progress to the second round.

Goals from new signing Simran Jhamat, Meesha Dudley-Jones, Delphi Cole and Steph Weston secured the emphatic victory, but the huge number of changes from the Baggies’ disappointing 7-2 league defeat to Stourbridge on Wednesday (11 October) had heads turning.

With such a massive change to the personnel of the side and such a significant difference in result, the face of the West Brom Women’s side could look very different from now on.

Jhamat, for instance, has struggled to get starts this season after her summer move. She arrived with a strong international pedigree but was finally given a chance by her manager. Hodgetts-Still’s faith was rewarded with a brace and it would be a huge surprise if she is missing from the starting lineup against Wolves on Sunday (22 October).

The season has been inconsistent so far with big wins being followed up by disappointing defeats, such as their win 4-2 against Derby preceding their 4-1 loss to Nottingham Forest.

Hopefully, the manager will have developed a stronger sense of her starting lineup after the Leafield Athletic win, but the likes of Cole and Weston have staked their claim and left their boss with questions to answer.

This result must be used as a springboard to gain some momentum and push up the league table, but the Baggies’ inconsistency would be their problem once again.

Baggies fans will be very optimistic ahead of the Wolves clash, but the Black Country derby against Dan McNamara’s second-place is a tough challenge regardless of form.

In other West Brom news, the Baggies tried to sign a former Premier League midfielder for free that Carlos Corberan knows.