Albion Women secured their place in round three of the Vitality Women’s FA Cup with an 8-0 win at Midlands rivals Lichfield City.
Phoebe Warner scored her first hat-trick for the club as the Baggies made it three wins and three clean sheets on the bounce.
Head Coach Jenny Sugarman made five changes to the team that beat Crewe Alexandra in first round of the FA Cup. Charlotte Clarke, Jess Davies, Abi Loydon, Sophie Tudor and Shannon Stamps all came into the side, while Lizzie Bennett-Steele was also drafted into the squad for the first time.
Nine minutes into the game, Warner grabbed her first of the afternoon. Captain Hannah George turned her marker inside the box and produced a superb low cross with the outside of her foot to find Warner at the back post who tapped in to open the scoring.
Albion pressed on and created a number of openings soon after, forcing Lichfield keeper Emily Jones into a string of fine saves.
Just after the half-hour mark, the Baggies got their second and third goals - Sophie Tudor found the bottom corner with a brilliant low strike from the edge of the area before Shannon Stamps linked up well with Warner who stroked the ball home for her second.
Into the second half and Mariam Mahmood joined in on the scoring after an hour. A long-range effort from substitute Kate Evans was blocked, but Mahmood reacted quickest to get hold of the rebound and rifled the ball low past Jones.
Three minutes later, Warner secured her hat-trick with a fizzing effort into the far corner from the right-hand side, taking her tally up to four for the season.
Picking up where she left off in the first half, George continued to cause problems down the wing and was at the heart of Albion’s next two goals. First, she found Stamps making a run into the box with a low drilled ball to make it five before adding her name to the scoresheet with a curling effort from the sideline, helped by substitute Bennett-Steele who shadowed the ball across the face of goal.
In the final moments, Kerry Walklett made it eight. Kate Evans pressed the Lichfield defence and helped intercept the ball into the path of Walklett who swept it into the far corner.
The Baggies turn their attention to the second round of the FAWNL Plate next Sunday and a trip Leeds United.
Albion: Clarke, George (C), Loydon (Evans), Walklett, Tudor, Stamps (Bennett-Steele), Davies, Timms, Warner, Mahmood (Straker), Newell
Substitutes: Haydn-Jones, Green, Embley, Crackle, Robinson.