Albion Women Manager Siobhan Hodgetts-Still believes her 'competitive' squad was key to their win over Derby County on Sunday.
Substitutes Fran Orthodoxou and Ellie May completed a quickfire double of strikes at The Don Amott Arena just before Phoebe Warner added a third to seal a 3-0 win over the Ewe Rams.
The Baggies are now five wins from five in all competitions, a run of form that Hodgetts-Still says will 'breed confidence' amongst the squad as they begin a busy October.
“We’re really happy with the performance today,” Hodgetts-Still said. “Obviously getting the three points, I thought it was important.
“We’ve picked up some good results of late in the Cup. It was really important to get the three points when we came here back in the league.
“I thought in the first half we created some really good chances, but we weren’t quite clinical enough. In the second half, we put those chances away, and the substitutions really helped with that.
“Fran [Orthodoxou] coming off the bench to score, and then Marli [Rhodes] assisting Ellie [May] for the second. I’m really happy for them because like I said before, the squad depth that we have, it’s competitive and training is competitive – people are fighting for places and it’s great.
“Wins breed confidence, and the players are full of that at the minute, so we’re really happy. Obviously with five wins in a row now, the hard work continues.
Rhodes also made an impact as she was introduced for her first appearance of the campaign after a spell on the sidelines. The forward assisted May’s strike, a feeling she described as “unreal” after a tough battle with injury.
“It was really nice, especially with the girls,” Rhodes said. “They’ve all been really good with me coming back from injury and it was nice to get the win on top of that.
“It was really good. I thought the girls did really well first half as well.
“I thought we got at them, it was just about being more clinical in the final third. I think when the subs came on, it kind of changed the game a little bit and gave us a bit of something that we didn't have on the pitch already.
“I thought it was nice, obviously, to help the team get a few more goals, but it's just nice to actually be on the pitch. It was nice to get an assist too.
“I've missed the girls quite a lot, I’ve been in rehab for a while now, but to actually be on the pitch with them all is an unreal feeling so I’m happy.”