Siobhan Hodgetts-Still ‘buzzing’ after West Brom Women victory v Derby
West Brom Women manager Siobhan Hodgetts-Still was “buzzing” after her side picked up all three points in a 2-1 victory against Derby in the FA Women’s National League.
Goals from Niamh Deasy and Mariam Mahmood secured the win for Albion, their fourth of the season pulling them above Halifax, although with four more games played.
Deasy found her first goal since joining the Baggies in the first half as she beat the goalkeeper to a cross into the box, poking it home, while Mahmood’s strike in the second half beat the keeper at her near post.
Speaking to the club’s official website, Hodgetts-Still shared: “I’m absolutely buzzing. I think, for the players and the staff, we’ve worked hard for it and it’s been coming so absolutely buzzing to get the three points on the board today.
“I thought in the first half we were excellent, you know, we got into their attacking half quite a bit, created chances. We scored a really good goal and second half, they came out and changed their shape and we had to defensively work hard to get the result.
“We managed to get the second goal and a great bit of work by Maz [Mariam Mahmood] to go and get the winner. Niamh [Deasy] needed that goal and I think she works hard at training and got herself in a great area and got the first goal she deserved.”
West Brom Women finding their way
This was Albion’s first win in their last three games, having lost to Liverpool Feds and Nottingham Forest in their previous two encounters without scoring a goal.
Derby currently sit three places above ninth-placed West Brom, looking to push up the table from sixth to loftier heights as they are just three points behind fourth-placed Liverpool Feds, so this was a fair scalp for Albion to claim.
Hodgetts-Still is right to be so pleased with her side’s performance, digging in defensively despite the visitors’ pressure after falling behind as they looked to throw players forward and create issues for Albion.
A hard-working defensive display allowed them to take all three points, and continue their strong record against the Ewes, having beaten them three times in all competitions this season.
Pulling away from the bottom two will be key for Albion at this stage of the season, with Huddersfield and Fylde currently occupying the relegation spaces.
This victory came at the same time as one for the men’s team, who earned a 1-0 victory against Birmingham, drawing high praise despite some controversy after full-time in a good weekend for West Brom.
In other West Brom news, a season ticket holder has been suspended after the incident v Birmingham.