Albion Women Interim Head Coach Charlie Fripp believes his team “found a way” to beat Sutton Coldfield Town in their Birmingham County FA Challenge Cup first-round victory on Wednesday evening.
The hosts notched twice through Rhianne Oakley and Jess Collyer, allowing Monique Robinson’s second-half effort to seal progression into the competition’s quarter-finals.
In doing so, they continued their impressive winning streak, having won eight matches on the bounce across all competitions - and after achieving another feat, Fripp couldn’t be prouder of his side.
He said: “It was a difficult game tonight; they came with a game plan, they sat deep and caused us problems. We didn’t have the space to work or play the patterns we had to play with, but the girls found a way, scored three, and we couldn’t be happier with them.
“Our front line are all doing what they’re here to do. They’re showing reasons why we brought them in. To get those three goals again is brilliant, and we kept it going throughout the game.
“Jess Collyer was one of our top recruits this summer, and we managed to get that deal over the line, and we’re now seeing the rewards for doing that. She’s a class player, a great person, and she’s always ready for the next challenge.
“We’ve got a very fluid front line, all of them can play in multiple positions. It’s key to what we’re trying to do; their ability to bounce off each other is brilliant.
“The objective in every cup competition is to win it, and we can show people what we can do. We’re through to the next round, and we’ll take it all in our stride as we look to Sunday.”
Forward Oakley had a hand in all three goals at the Alex on Wednesday - scoring once and assisting twice en route to another valiant victory - one where she says “momentum” carried the side through.
She said: “It was tough to start with, they came with a game plan, and it was hard to break them down to start with. But with the momentum with the eight wins in-a-row we have now, it was important to get those three goals in and to come away with a win.
“It’s about believing in ourselves; we have the ability to score goals, and we struggled with that last season, especially. This year we’ve improved, and we’re getting further chances, and it could’ve been more today - but to get three is what we’re looking.
“I enjoyed being out there. I want to be on the scoresheet every week, so to get a goal and two assists, I can’t ask for more. It’s really exciting to be across this forward unit, we’re all very attacking and can play in different ways.
“We’re becoming a real threat, and we have to go into Sunday carrying the same positivity, and we want to make it nine on the bounce.”
