Albion Women are aiming to spark an FAWNL Cup run as they head to Lye Town on Sunday afternoon (ko 2pm).
The Baggies face The Flyers having not played a game in the league cup so far after their first encounter against Birmingham City PGA was postponed due to poor weather last week.
And with a tough challenge ahead, Charlie Fripp’s side must be at their best to get their Group N games off to the best possible start at the Sports Ground this weekend.
The opposition
The Flyers have made it to the FAWNL for the first time in their history, and will be looking to put their stamp on the league’s cup competition.
And it’s well-deserved after going unbeaten throughout their West Midlands Regional Women’s League Premier Division season, finishing top of the league in the process.
They’ve managed to keep hold of their key players from last term too, with Tasha Baptiste, who won the division’s Golden Boot prize after scoring 30 league goals, and Golden Glove winner Justine Lewis - both sticking around for their maiden campaign in the fourth-tier.
Daniel Ludlow’s outfit have endured a tough start to life in the FAWNL Division One Midlands, drawing with Sutton Coldfield and losing to Barnsley and Leafield Athletic in their opening three matches.
And they’ll aim to do better in the FAWNL Cup after falling short in their opener to Sporting Khalsa last week.
Previous meetings
Albion Women 8-2 Lye Town - November 2023
It was a thrilling encounter when the two sides met in the Adobe Women’s FA Cup in 2023. It finished 8-2 after goals from Phoebe Warner (2), Delphi Cole, Mariam Mahmood, Ashlee Brown, Abi Loydon, Simran Jhamat and Liv Rabjohn.
Albion Women 1-0 Lye Town - February 2023
Olivia Stubbs scored the only goal of the game for the Baggies in their Birmingham County FA Challenge Cup quarter-final tie.
Pre-match thoughts
When Phoebe Hollin wheeled away in celebration after scoring her first goal for the club against Peterborough United, she knew she’d not only completed a personal milestone, but she’d also broken the team’s 2026/27 scoring duck.
Despite plenty of opportunities in their opening two league games against Stoke City and Middlesbrough, the Baggies were yet to notch in either of their FAWNL Northern Premier encounters.
But the winger was the one to put Albion out of their misery, as she thundered a left-footed effort into the roof of the Posh’s net to open the scoring at the Valley Stadium, where the hosts would go on to win 3-1.
And after doing that, Hollin says everyone will keep “pushing” to ensure performances like last week’s become a regular.
She said: ‘It was an amazing start to life here on Sunday. Everything we’ve been working on in training came to fruition against Peterborough United.
“I believe we were unlucky against Stoke City and against Middlesbrough, but everything seems to be falling into place now, and our patterns are coming off. It’s really good that we seem to be clicking now.
“I was really nervous before the game, with it being my first start. So I’m just delighted to get on the scoresheet, and it helps to settle the nerves a little bit. It was a great turn from Jess Collyer, and she threaded through for me to let fly - it was a bit of hit-and-hope, but thankfully it went in.
“I was hoping to ease myself in and lose my nerves a bit by playing against Blues in midweek, but as you say, it makes it even sweeter when you get a start, and it’s great to get the points on the board in the league too.
“I knew once we got one goal, we would be able to get two or three, and we were probably unlucky not to come away with more. It’s about us keeping on pushing to try and perfect what we’ve been doing.
“Charlie Fripp really backs every single one of us, he tells us all the time, so it’s good to have that faith in us, and we know it’ll come right, and when it does - we’ll score a lot of goals. The message at half-time from him was to stick to our game plan, keep working and rise above the physical challenge.
“We’ve got a really good mix of technical and physical players, so we know we’ll be okay in the weeks to come. Lye are a tough team and will provide a good challenge for us - the season is a marathon, not a sprint, and we want to get off to the best possible start in the cup now.”
How to follow
Tickets are on sale on the gate only at the Sports Ground and are priced at £6 for adults and £3 for concessions. Both cash and card are accepted at the gate.
For those unable to attend, coverage will be provided across Albion Women’s social media channels, as always.
Reaction, the match report and match highlights will be available on the club website over the coming days.
