Albion Women will aim to bounce back from defeat to Halifax when they welcome Loughborough Lightning to the Alexander Stadium on Sunday (2pm).
The Baggies had their four-game unbeaten run halted by their Yorkshire opponents in their last outing, and have their attentions turned to building another positive streak of form.
Siobhan Hodgetts-Still’s team play host to Loughborough in the FAWNL, with the visitors currently sitting 11th.
Last time out
Albion were defeated 1-0 by Halifax in their latest FAWNL Northern Premier clash. Eleanor Ashton’s 50th-minute strike was enough to secure all three points for the Eagles at the Alexander Stadium.
The opposition
Visitors Loughborough are still right in the mix of the FAWNL Northern Premier relegation battle.
Lightning, who are coached by former Albion Women Coach Charles Baxter, currently sit 11th in the same division as Albion, and just a point from safety. They managed a goalless draw with Middlesbrough in their previous game, where there were chances for both sides at the Loughborough University Stadium.
Though they’ve only picked up one league win this season, the East Midlanders will provide a tough challenge for the Baggies this Sunday.
Previous meetings
Loughborough 1-1 Albion Women – August 2025
It was a score draw when the two sides met at the Loughborough University Stadium in the first game of the 2025/26 season. Midfielder Fran Orthodoxou’s effort gave the Baggies a short-lived advantage, before the visitors were quickly undone by Ella-Mai Coutts’ goal for the hosts.
Loughborough 1-2 Albion Women – April 2023
The Baggies recorded a 2-1 midweek away win at their East Midlands opponents in April 2023. Jenny Sugarman’s team took the lead on 27 minutes thanks to an own goal, prior to Phoebe Warner’s long-range effort securing all three points.
Albion Women 4-1 Loughborough – August 2022
A convincing 4-1 win came Albion’s way in their last home fixture against Sunday’s opponents. Shannon Stamps’ double gave the hosts a worthy lead, before Jannelle Straker and Ashlee Brown made it four, despite a late visiting penalty.
Pre-match thoughts
Since joining Albion following her departure from Birmingham City, Millie Pullen has had to bide her time to secure a starting spot in Siobhan Hodgetts-Still’s line-up.
The Baggies have had to be patient in recent weeks to find the back of the net and were held to their first attacking shutout since October 22nd last Sunday against Halifax, despite having the lion's share of possession.
After back-to-back starts against both the Eagles and Cambridge United, Pullen is keen for “consistency” in her minutes as the Baggies reach the tail end of 2025, and has also encouraged her team to “tidy up” their final-third play in order to score more goals.
She said: “It’s been really good to be involved. It’s nice to have consistent football in a first-team environment. I feel very settled and know that it’s the best for my development.
“I’m getting some more minutes, and I keep doing what I can to get more minutes to show the manager and the girls what I can do. It’s nice to have back-to-back starts, it’s a bit of consistency. There’s a lot of competition right now.
“Going with back-to-back starts, it gives me the chance to show what I can do. I’ve had a good block of starts now and hopefully I’ve done the right things and hopefully the manager thinks I’ve done that too.
“The main difference between academy and senior football is that the players want the physical battle during game, rather than the technical side. You’ve got to learn how to get out of those situations and keep the ball so that you can be productive.
“We had some really good moments against Halifax. There were some chances that we should’ve scored and done better with.
“It’s one of those tough games that we could’ve gone and won if we took our chances. They’ve had one or two chances and taken theirs, so if we become more clinical, those games are ones that we’ll win.
“We just need to keep getting in the areas to create those chances. It’s football and there’s going to be times where we can do better, it’s just one of those frustrating games when things didn't go our way in the final third.
“As soon as they won the ball back in our final third, they just wanted to go long. As the game progressed it became challenging because of the distance to cover but I do think we coped well.
“There was one shot we conceded in our box that we conceded from. It felt unlucky for us.
“Loughborough are going to be here for a physical battle again. We kind of know what to expect from them after playing them in the first game of the season. We want to show that we can beat them this time because we have the ability in this group of players.
“We want to tidy up the final-third issues we’ve been having and score some goals on Sunday. There’s only a point between us and fourth place and we have a game in hand – we want to try and close down the gap between us and the very top of this table.”
Ticket information
Tickets for the Alexander Stadium clash are on sale for £6 Adults, £5 Seniors (65+), £5 20-25s, £4 Under-20s, £3 Under-17s and £2 Under-14s. Disabled tickets are priced £5.
They can be purchased online now, or on the gate on the day of the game at the ground.
For those unable to attend, coverage will be provided across Albion Women’s social media channels, as always.
