Albion make winning start in League Cup

Birmingham City 0, Albion 3: Second-half goals from Guro Bergsvand, Maisie Symonds and Fran Kirby seal Cup success at St Andrew's.

Bruce Talbot

2024-10-02T20:55+01:00

Maisie Symonds is all smiles after scoring Albion's second goal with a brilliant free-kick. 📷 Kyle Hemsley

Albion made a winning start to their League Cup campaign after three goals in the last 20 minutes sunk Birmingham City at St Andrew’s.

The visitors had struggled to break down their Championship hosts before scoring twice in three minutes thanks to two bits of quality from set-pieces.

Skipper Guro Bergsvand broke the deadlock with a close-range header from Marisa Olislagers’ inswinging corner and a superb free-kick from outside the box by Maisie Symonds doubled the lead. Substitute Fran Kirby got Albion’s third and they ended up winning comfortably.

Guro Bergsvand broke the deadlock with a close-range glancing header. 📷 Kyle Hemsley

Dario Vidosic had made eight changes to the team which had lost narrowly to Manchester City on Sunday, handing a debut to central defender Marit Auee and and first starts to Rachel McLauchlan, Nikita Parris, Jelena Cancovic and Michelle Agyemang.

Albion lined up with a back three and Poppy Pattinson alongside Symonds as a deep-lying midfield pair. Birmingham made nine changes themselves and Albion who dominated possession without seriously testing goalkeeper Oliwia Szperkkowska in the first half.

Maisie Symonds doubles Albion's lead with a superbly taken free kick. 📷 Kyle Hemsley

Agyemang’s pace and power was a concern for the hosts though. She headed Cancovic’s inswinging free kick from the right wide in a crowded six-yard box but that was as close as Albion came in the first half while at the other end Melina Loeck had little to do. Albion had dominated possession but were finding the home defence tough to break down.

Loeck was tested early in the second half when she pushed out Ava Baker’s powerful drive – the first shot on target by either team – then Christie Harrison-Murray shot wide at the end of a counter-attack as Birmingham started to look the more threatening.

Symonds rattled a right-foot shot inches wide from the corner of the box before Albion had their best chance so far just past the hour. Madison Haley did well to turn a defender and pick out Kiko Seike. Her cross eluded Parris but Agyemang arrived into the box and smashed a right-foot shot against the near post from a tight angle.

Nikita Parris breaks forward on her first Albion start. 📷 Kyle Hemsley

Seike then broke into space but instead of squaring to the unmarked Parris opted to shoot and found the side netting. Albion were getting on top, though, and struck twice from set pieces in the space of three minutes.

On 70 minutes Bergsvand met Olislagers’ inswinging corner from the right with a downward header into the bottom corner. Then, after former Albion player Geummin Lee had given away a free-kick 20 yards out on the left, Symonds bent the ball around the wall and into the top left-hand corner, giving Szperkkowska no chance.

Michelle Agyemang challenges for the ball with Neva Herron. 📷 Kyle Hemsley

Aisha Masaka came on for her debut in the closing stages and Agyemang nearly got on the scoresheet with a powerful header which was straight at Szperkkowska before Haley’s low cross was tucked home by Kirby to make it 3-0 with two minutes to go.

Albion: Loeck, McLauchlan, Bergsvand © (Carabali 78), Auee, Pattinson (Olislagers 63), Cancovic (Bremer 63), Symonds, Haley, Seike (Kirby 63), Parris (Masaka 83), Agyemang.