Albion Women secured their tenth victory on the bounce with a hard-fought win over Norwich City on Sunday afternoon.
It was a close FAWNL Northern Premier contest at The Nest, with the first half broken up by Monique Robinson’s calmly dispatched penalty kick.
In the second period, amidst a flurry of visiting chances - Riya Mannu’s stunning long-range strike put the icing on a perfect away day and an impressive three points in Norfolk.
The visitors started brighter and had two consecutive opportunities go begging through Mannu. The attacker rounded Eva-Jean Young, but a late touch from the goalkeeper ensured she couldn’t receive the ball at the end of her run to prod home - next hitting a lofted long-range strike over the bar.
But they’d soon get their rewards for their early pressure, as a Norwich defender was adjudged to have handled the ball inside the penalty area, leaving Robinson to step up and coolly convert the spot kick for her eighth goal in her last five matches.
Charlotte Clarke was called into action on a couple of occasions before the halfway mark, firstly stopping Lauren Hailes at close quarters, before leaping to deny Freya Symonds from a free-kick, ensuring the visitors went in ahead.
Albion resumed their positive momentum after the break; Mannu saw a long-range attempt sail over the bar, while Rhianne Oakley strode away on the counter-attack, but the forward’s strike met the arms of the goalkeeper.
But it was Mannu who brought a frantic fixture to a standstill when she secured the visiting second. She turned into space just outside of the attacking third, and unleashed a rocket from distance which hit the underside of the crossbar on its way in.
The Baggies continued to rally defensively to keep any opposition pressure at bay, and did so successfully, sealing another league victory and 10 in-a-row across all competitions.
Albion: Clarke; Reynolds, Green, Day, Haughey (George 90’); Rush, Powell (Rabjohn 90'); Lane, Mannu, Robinson (Round 83’); Oakley (Collyer 66’).
Substitutes: Grimshaw, Sharp, Jones.
