Glassgirls Find it Tough at Baggies

The Glassgirls held Albion at bay for much of the first half, before trailing to a goal three minutes before the break, but despite a much more positive second half display it was the home side who took their chances to claim a 4-0 win.

Stour remain nine points clear of the relegation zone with Huddersfield Town also going down to defeat at Nottingham Forest, but with a seventeen-day wait for their next fixture, and a gruelling eight-day period in wait, during which they play Burnley, Wolves and Forest at the War Memorial Ground, one eye will certainly now be firmly on the Terriers’ results.

Manager Mike Harris was forced into a couple of changes from the Newcastle defeat on Sunday, Jess Lowe and Senna Robinson coming into the starting line-up in place of Ellie Butler and Jade Grove, who was unwell, while there was a return to the substitutes’ bench for Kelsey Richardson after missing the Newcastle match.

Albion had the better of the opening stages without creating much in the way of chances, until Simran Jhamat forced the impressive Jamie-Lee Bamford (pictured) into a fingertip save on 10 minutes, and then Jhamat saw another effort blocked in the area, with the referee waving away handball claims.

Olivia Rabjohn spurned the Baggies’ best chance up to that point when she dragged her shot wide on 18 minutes, before Daisy Clements almost wriggled her way through for Stour before shooting off target under challenge.

Albion were still seeing more of the play and Phoebe Warner might have done better after she intercepted Maria Timms’s pass out of defence before slipping as she shot, as Stour were forced into an early change with Esme Moran limping off on her 99th first team appearance, being replaced by Erin Griffiths.

Jess Lowe attacked Clements’s cross from the right as Stour tried to prise an opening, but fouled the keeper in doing so, before Albion took the lead through Delphi Cole, slipping her pass wide of Bamford after being released by Rabjohn.

Back out after the break, Stour found themselves in the unenviable position of enjoying their best attacking spell of the game to that point yet falling two goals further behind. They may well have been level had Lowe been able to get a shot away after pinching the ball from keeper Anna Miller, but Miller did just enough to hold her up and Jess Reavill was able to clear before Albion struck twice in four minutes.

First Rabjohn was on hand to finish from close range after Jhamat had got to the byline, and then Fran Orthodoxou bundled the ball home at the near post, although it appeared the final touch may have come off a Glassgirls defender.

In between times, Rosie Embley had fired over as a dangerous cross from Clements dropped at her feet in ten yards out, while Lowe then charged down Miller’s clearance with the ball bouncing kindly for Taylor Reynolds to mop up, Hannah Fishwick fired well over from 20 yards, and then Zoe Clarke and Lowe again saw shots blocked, as Stour continued to create half-chances.

Miller was called into action again, diving to her right to parry away Richardson’s free kick 20 minutes from time, and then Bamford was equally alert at the other end to grab the ball off Mariam Mahmood’s feet as the striker looked to go round her.

There was no error from Jhamat three minutes later, however, as she strode beyond the Glassgirls’ back-line before clipping a shot past Bamford to make it four, and although Richardson fired over and Clarke into Miller’s arms, and then Timms saw her header booted away inside the 6-yard box, Stour couldn’t find the net to reduce the arrears, before Bamford produced the final save of the night, blocking from Mahmood at close quarters.

(Photo – Anthony Dunn, Focus Dunn Sports Photography)