Albion cruise past Durham to reach FA Cup fifth round

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Albion face Villa in the next round.

Charlie Hanson

2025-01-29T21:00+00:00

Bruna Vilamala is on a season-long loan from Barcelona. 📷 by Paul Hazlewood.

Albion women claimed their first win of 2025 with a comfortable 4-1 win over Durham in the fourth round of the Adobe Women’s FA Cup.

Having gone three matches without a victory this calendar year, Dario Vidosic made six changes to the team that lost 3-0 to Manchester United on Sunday.

The difference between Albion and their Championship opponents showed as we went 3-0 up within the opening 21 minutes.

Bruna Vilamala put Albion in front after just six minutes. 📷 by Paul Hazlewood.

Vilamala – on a season-long loan from Barcelona – timed her run perfectly to poke in at the back-post from Marisa Olislagers’s cross with just six minutes played.

Pauline Bremer’s left-wing cross then struck the outstretched arms of Sarah Wilson in the box, which saw Albion awarded a penalty. Michelle Agyemang made no mistake as she thumped the ball into the top left corner from 12 yards, meaning the Arsenal loanee has now scored in all three domestic competitions for Albion this season.

Michelle Agyemang fired home Albion's second on the night from the penalty spot. 📷 by Paul Hazlewood.

Vidosic’s team had their third two minutes later as Guro Bergsvand was the only person in the stadium switched on after Olislagers’s drive from the edge of the box was tipped onto the crossbar by Tatiana Saunders. Seemingly heading behind for a corner, the ball bounced back into play, with the Norwegian able to pass the ball into the back of the net from a yard out.

Guro Bergsvand was first to Marisa Olislagers's saved effort to put Albion 3-0 up. 📷 by Paul Hazlewood.

Albion were cruising and dominating possession, although they failed to add a fourth before the half-time whistle with half chances for Bex Rayner and Agyemang missed and blocked.

Olislagers's strike from 20 yards was gathered easily enough by Saunders with 60 minutes played, although the keeper couldn't get near Poppy Pattinson's terrific half-volley from the edge of the area that flew narrowly wide to the left of goal.

A Maisie Symonds free-kick looked bound for the back of the net as it cleared the wall, but Saunders did well to get two strong palms on it and steer it away from goal, but it would be Durham who'd find the fourth goal of the night.

The visitors countered down the left with 70 minutes gone, with Kaila Novak's cross acrobatically met by the outstretched leg of Carly Johns, and the ball squirmed under Melina Loeck.

Carly Johns pulled one back for the visitors with 20 minutes to play. 📷 by Paul Hazlewood.

That didn't alter the flow of the game though as Albion continued to dominate possession and only a fingertip save from Saunders when Nikita Parris went one-on-one with the Durham keeper stopped us from restoring our three-goal advantage.

That was the last action of Saunders’ career. She announced on Sunday that this would be her final game before retiring, and an injury meant she was replaced for the final ten minutes.

Her replacement Anna King would concede in the fifth minute of stoppage time though, as she dropped Jorelyn Carabali's ball into the box and Parris was there to fire in.

The only downside on the night for the hosts was the withdrawal of Vilamala through injury with an hour played. She wasn't able to continue despite treatment.

Vidosic and his team can now look forward to their last-16 match against Aston Villa, which will take place on Saturday 8 February, 12pm kick-off. The game at Walsall's Poundland Bescot Stadium will be live on the Adobe Women’s FA Cup YouTube channel and FA Player.

Before then, though, they take on Crystal Palace at home in the WSL on Sunday.

Albion team: Loeck, Thorisdottir, Bergsvand, Carabali, Symonds (Haley 82), Olislagers, Rayner, Bremer (McLauchlan 58), Cankovic (Stefanovic 46), Vilamala (Pattinson 58), Agyemang (Parris 46).