Baggies devastated by late North End winner
SPORTING Club Albion Ladies were defeated 1-0 by Preston in the FA Women’s Premier League (Northern Division) at The Grove on Sunday.
Melissa Brown’s 75th-minute strike was enough to clinch victory for the visitors with the Baggies now lying fifth in the league after seven games.
And Albion boss Dave Lawrence did not attempt to hide his disappointment following his side’s fourth loss of the season.
“The conditions didn’t help as the pitch was getting cut up due to rain, but this is no excuse for some of the basic problems we encountered on Sunday," said Lawrence.
“This was a very winnable game for us, Preston played well, but we made things very difficult by not controlling the game effectively.
Players were often giving the ball away by making poor decisions when in possession, not controlling the ball well enough, and being drawn out of position too easily.
“The shape of the team allowed Preston to be on the front foot for long periods, and this is massively disappointing after we worked so hard on this theme in training on Thursday.
“I am really disappointed with the result, and angry at the level of performance.
“Our application was not good enough.
“Players need to realise the huge opportunity they have been given, and not take it for granted.
“At the moment it seems players think they can just turn up on a Sunday and win, which is far from the truth.
“They need to implement the work we do in training, work hard from the start and not when we go 1-0 down, and start playing like a team and not individuals.”