Albion Women made a winning start to their FAWNL Cup campaign against Stourbridge on Wednesday night.
Strikes from Amya Hammond-McLean (2), Simran Jhamat and an own goal were the difference between the sides as the Baggies picked up an important cup victory.
Siobhan Hodgetts-Still made seven changes to the side that drew with Loughborough in their league opener on Sunday. Orla Howard and Ruby Heselden were brought in for their Baggies debuts, while Asiah Janny, Molly Kehoe and Hammond-McLean all made their first starts for the club.
Albion thrust themselves into the ascendancy from the first whistle. Hammond-McLean was the first to test Ellie-Mae Locke in the Stourbridge goal - her low effort was beaten away at the near post.
The bright forward soon broke Stourbridge's resilience though, driving Asiah Janny’s cross into the bottom right corner just two minutes before half-time.
A second almost creeped in prior to the interval too. Attacking midfielder Kehoe picked up on a loose Stourbridge pass and beat the goalkeeper to the ball in the 18-yard box, but poked agonisingly wide of the target.
The Caymanian was in amongst the chances after the break too. She touched down Seren Watkins’ corner out of the sky, before forcing a sprawling save from the goalkeeper.
Albion were relentless in pursuit of a second and got their reward on the hour mark. Hammond-McLean was at the heart of a swift attacking move again - her header cannoned off the crossbar before the backpedalling Locke helped it over the line.
Substitute Jhamat came off the bench to top off a wonderful team move. Hammond-McLean found the roving Phoebe Warner on the right-wing and her inviting cross left Jhamat with a simple finish at the back post.
There was still time for another in added time. Hammond-McLean's powerful shot clipped the bar on its way to finding the back of the net, securing her brace in the process.
The Baggies are next in action on Sunday, August 24, when they make the trip to Humberside to take on Hull City.
Albion: Howard, Sharp, Evans, Heselden, Haughey (George 52’); Janny (Warner 62’), Watkins, Rabjohn (May 62’), Hammond-McLean, Kehoe (Robinson 62’), Oakley (Jhamat 52’).
Substitutes: Johnson.
