Women's Team

Fran Orthodoxou | We’re ready to kick on

Fran Orthodoxou in action for Albion Women, in home colours.

Albion Women midfielder Fran Orthodoxou says the team is riding a wave of "great momentum" going into the final two FAWNL Northern Premier Division fixtures.

Siobhan Hodgetts-Still's team sprung into life during March, collecting four wins and a draw from six fixtures, results which saw them jump up the table.

The Baggies now sit seventh in the league as they head into their last few weeks, and the midfielder is hopeful they can finish strongly.

“It was a bit frustrating throughout the first half of the season,” Orthodoxou admitted. 

“We had to adapt during that opening period. For me, I want to see us higher up in the table but if we’d have won some of the games we should’ve, we’d have been there by now – that’s a positive.

“I want to see us higher in the table and we’ve hit momentum towards the end of the season. That’s going to be helpful going into next year.”

Fran Orthodoxou in action for Albion Women, in home colours.

Orthodoxou re-signed for the football club in the summer having previously been part of a successful Albion side.

And, after reflecting on this campaign, she's already got her sights set on improving again next term.

“I have a lot of great memories here,” Orthodoxou added. 

“When I was here about five years ago, it was probably my favourite season in my football career.

“We won the double that year. Since then, as a club, we’ve started to get to the levels of the stronger teams in the league.

“Now you can tell, the gap is closing. It’s taken us a lot to gel as a team, it’s taken a while to get us going and show what we can do in possession.

“I think the club has changed a lot. We have a lot more behind the scenes that we didn’t have five years ago. There’s also that continuation with some of the players that were here last time.

“It’s nice to have that connection with a few players. It’s definitely great to be back and we’re ready to kick on."

Albion Women are next in action this Sunday (April 21) against Stoke City at the Bet365 Stadium, the home of the Potters’ men’s side.

“It’s great to play at these bigger stadiums,” Orthodoxou explained. “It’s great for the younger players to get that experience. 

“We played at Molineux, along with our games at The Hawthorns, which - barring the Wolves away result - were good experiences. It’s nice to put our stamp on playing away from home.”

“We’ve got a few games left, but it’s a positive point to build on for next season. We’ve got great momentum to have going into the last games.”