West Brom Women boss is hoping for Black Country Derby cheer

The visitors cross the Black Country divide to face Siobhan Hodgetts-Still’s Baggies in a National League Northern Premier contest.

The 2pm kick-off – which includes affordable family match tickets such as kids for a quid – puts to a test Albion Women’s fine record at The Hawthorns. Since their first fixture there, in March 2022, the hosts have been beaten just once, a 3-1 defeat by Wolves in March 2023.

That was before Hodgetts-Still took over as head coach, succeeding Jenny Sugarman, who left for Leicester that summer. The current head coach was previously a part of the coaching staff and is a Uefa A Licence holder with experience of coaching in the United States.

“We’re really excited to be back at The Hawthorns, we’re excited to be back in front of a good crowd for a local derby and hope to give a good performance for the fans,” said Hodgetts-Still, whose side’s home matches are generally played at The Valley Stadium in Redditch.

“We’re always excited to play at The Hawthorns. Redditch is a great venue but being at The Hawthorns and playing for the Baggies, nothing beats it. The players love playing there and having that experience. It doesn’t get better than playing Wolves.

“The women’s game is a family feel. At The Hawthorns last time against Sporting Khalsa all the young girls and boys came to the front and players go over to meet them at the end. I know our players love doing that. It’s always better after a win with a smile! But we will go over for autographs and photos regardless.”

The test against Wolves is a stern one. The visitors boast a 10-match winning run against the Baggies having earned bragging rights in recent years.

Hodgetts-Still, a former Albion player, has a big Baggies background and has been associated with the club for much of her life – going back to the days as a youngster where her Albion-mad dad would take her to The Hawthorns.

The boss, who is initially from Greets Green in the town, will have the support of family and friends from the stands as Albion lock horns with their great rivals.

“We’ve put on some good performances against Wolves, definitely last season, we got close,” added the boss. “Sometimes it’s those one per cents and mistakes that have let us down. We’re excited to try to get three points.

“I’ll back my team every Sunday to compete with anybody when we’re on our game. We’ve recruited really well and the players are excited to put a performance in.”

Albion head into the contest in a mid-table position of seventh in the 12-team Northern Premier following three wins from eight. They have seen off neighbours including Stourbridge and Sporting Khalsa comfortably but just come out on the wrong side of narrow scorelines at Hull and Burnley of late. Wolves, meanwhile, are up in third one point off top.

More broadly it is a new era for Albion Women under the club’s new Bilkul Football ownership.

In June it was confirmed by owner and chairman Shilen Patel that for the first time the side has officially joined under the club’s umbrella, rather than as a separate entity.

“We came under the club in June and it’s been positive. I’ve met Andrew (Nestor, Bilkul Football CEO) a few times and we’ve had really good conversations,” Hodgetts-Still said. “Now it’s about how do we build and put together a strategy to push for promotion?

“The sport being so big over in America and them coming over here and wanting to invest and take the women’s side as far as they can go, it’s a massive positive for players, staff, fans and whole club. It’s been a breath of fresh air to have that support and backing.

“It’s about getting the foundations and strategy in place to build for next year.

“Coming together under the club there is more support for me and my staff and that helps the players. It’s my second year and you always learn as well. You can be a bit naive, but I had good staff around me.

“Having contact with them shows the type of people they are. They care about the staff and care about the club. It’s one club at the women’s is in that too.

“There’s an excitement here. They’ve expressed where they want to get to. As a staff and group we’re excited to be a part of that. It’s exciting times for us as a club.”