Albion Women Interim Head Coach Charlie Fripp says holding “each other accountable” was key to their victory over Lye Town on Sunday afternoon.
His team emphatically came from behind to beat the Flyers 6-2 in their opening FAWNL Cup match, with Hannah George (3), Rhianne Oakley and Jess Collyer all on target at the Sports Ground.
And after a rocky first half, Fripp was delighted to see his side improve upon their performance and come away with all three points in Group N.
He said: “I’m proud of the girls for their performance today. In the first half, we weren’t up to our standards and we had some harsh words at half-time. We came out in the second half and were much better.
“When you come to places you don’t know much about, it can be difficult. Credit to Lye - they had a game plan and stuck to it - it caused us problems. Overall, our performance and our ability shone. I’m proud of everyone.
“We need to build on last week, it needs to be better, and we need to score more - the girls showed that today. I couldn’t be happier for Hannah George with her hat-trick, and the girls all motivate each other to play well and put performances in week in, week out.
“The girls all hold each other accountable, and that showed today, but they can also see the results when they do that, as they did today.
“Hannah’s been great; she’s been incredibly loyal, and I couldn’t be happier for her today. She deserves it. I’m sure the girls will be delighted for her today, and it shows who we are. The group of girls we’ve got are so close, and they’ll be so happy for her today, as I am.
“We’re trying to create a positive environment; it builds resilience and character, and the girls are buying into it. When you have smiles on faces, you play better and perform better - we’re enjoying it a lot.”
Long-serving George scored her first Albion hat-trick since joining in 2018, and it couldn’t have come at a better time for her team, with them on the cusp of a cup upset before their second-half turnaround.
She said: “It was amazing to contribute and get a hat trick. I’m over the moon with it and the girls worked really hard to avenge the first half and we owed that to ourselves.
“We went out and really went after it. We knew the first half wasn’t good enough, but it’s a tough place to come and we knew they’d come after us - credit to them.
“We put it right and I’m so impressed with how we played. There were some great assists in there, two from the corners either side, then the penalty - I was determined to take that one.
“Rhianne Oakley let me have this spot-kick, and I’m buzzing with all of them. I hope it gives us some confidence, putting those in the back of the net today - we hope to take our form into the league and get some points on the board.”
