Women's round-up: West Brom secure dramatic late winner

West Brom Women boss Siobhan Hodgetts-Still says she is ‘proud’ of her side’s resilience after they notched a late winner against Liverpool Feds.

The hosts had scored through Ella Haughey and Taylor Reynolds but were pegged back by their Merseyside opponents in the National League Northern Premier Division clash.

Marli Rhodes then sparked jubilant celebrations with a 95th minute winner as Albion took a big step towards a top four place, now sitting in fifth and three points behind Stoke with two league fixtures left to play.

Hodgetts-Still said: “We’re buzzing to get the win, but I thought it could’ve gone either way. Feds made it really difficult for us at times.

“I’m really proud that the girls dug deep, stayed in the game, and we earned the right to get that chance at the end. We defended our box very well and scored the winner with a minute to go, and I couldn’t be happier with the win and the three points.

“I’ve been asking Taylor and Ella to be braver and go higher. I think Taylor has had a few opportunities to score in recent weeks, and it’s only a matter of time until she scores. She deserved her chance and I’m glad she took it.

“The game could’ve gone either way, but when we went up the other end and followed in that chance, the bench erupted. It shows how much it means to us, really, and it’s brilliant to get another three points closer to where we want to be.

“This group has aspirations to go higher and where we want to go and finish in the table. We had some really good words at half-time, and as I said, the game could’ve gone either way, but we dug deep to show how far we’ve come together.

“There have been other seasons where we could’ve crumbled and conceded in those later minutes. We have to take the positives and enjoy this moment ahead of the two important games left.

“Next week’s another opportunity to play at The Hawthorns, we want to continue on our run, take the positives from today and bring them into next week.”

Meanwhile, Women’s Super League 2 side Birmingham City crashed out of the FA Cup with a quarter-final loss to top flight leaders Manchester City.

Khadija Shaw was played through and lifted the ball over Lucy Thomas to open the scoring inside seven minutes and they held on to that narrow lead to beat Blues.

In the National League Division One Midlands, strugglers Kidderminster Harriers and Stourbridge both tasted defeat.

Harriers lost 2-1 at Leafield Athletic despite taking a first half lead through Grace Rogers, while Stourbridge were beaten 2-0 at home to Sheffield.

Harriers sit three points above Stourbridge, who are in the relegation zone, with two fixtures remaining this season.