The opening proceedings were dominated by the hosts with a dangerous free kick, a flurry of corners, a point-blank header missed, and some fantastic interventions by Lightning goalkeeper Teresa Murphy.
A promising Lightning breakaway led by Ella Jarowicki was well defended to prevent the striker crafting herself a clear-cut opportunity.
The hosts continued to push, and a fantastic block by Emily McMaster denied a certain goal. Shortly after, former Lightning player Jess Collyer had a wonderful opportunity inside the box, but her finish was poor.
The pressure diminished after 20 minutes, with the occasional shot hardly testing the Lightning goal.
In the 37th minute, Lightning burst forward and had a big penalty shout after a potential handball. The referee didn’t budge; however, just seconds later a teasing cross swung in by Ella Jarowicki bounced into the home side’s net after an own goal.
Lightning almost doubled their advantage just 4 minutes later - Ella Jarowicki once again drove forward, but her long-range effort agonisingly grazed the outside of the post.
The whistle blew and Lightning went into the interval a goal to the good despite the hosts’ dominance.
The restart saw Lightning substitute Nia Davies for Rebecca Hogg.
The home side came charging out of the blocks. A fantastic save maintained Lightning’s advantage, followed by a big penalty appeal that was denied.
After sustained pressure, West Brom converted a chance around the hour mark, with winger Monique Robinson expertly finishing a cut-back first time. Considering the direction of momentum, the equaliser felt somewhat inevitable.
The game stretched after the home side drew level, with both sides eager to go ahead. Lucy Chads replaced Captain Morgan Rogers in the 72nd minute as Lightning searched for a second strike.
Minutes later, the ball was in the Lightning goal, however, play was halted moments prior for a foul just outside the box. This was met with outrage, with the home side frustrated about the decision not to play advantage.
In the end it didn’t matter. Monique Robinson scored the resulting free kick to grab her second of the game - curling one in off the post to beat Murphy between the sticks and put the Baggies in the lead for the first time.
Lightning responded, pushing numbers forward and coming close to levelling the scoreline through Mitchell Ramon. The ball fell invitingly to her in the box, and her clean strike looked goal-bound; however, a crucial block meant Lightning settled for a corner.
West Brom regrouped, rattling the post and stamping their foot on the game to kill the newfound Lightning momentum. A mistimed challenge from Mitchell Ramon drew a penalty in the 82nd minute. Monique Robinson dispatched the spot kick to seal her hat-trick and almost certainly seal the 3 points.
The home side were denied another penalty shout for a clumsy challenge almost immediately after. The game calmed and came to a close with the hosts the victors by 3 goals to 1.
West Bromwich Albion made it 9 wins on the bounce, whereas Lightning have now lost consecutive matches - hence dropping to 9th.
It was a frustrating, yet not entirely unexpected result. Playing away against the best teams is never easy. Lightning certainly created issues for the Baggies’ defence and kept their forward line at arm’s length for almost an hour of play.
There are definitely positives - defending corners, for example. Lightning neutralised numerous opposition corners today, a massive improvement on recent weeks.
A tough afternoon, lessons learned, but it’s not one to dwell on. Looking ahead, Lightning are back at home next Sunday when they will take on Liverpool Feds.
1. T. Murphy 6. H. Langford 2. E. McMaster 37. N. Davies (14. B. Hogg 46') 23. E. Williams 35. O. Mitchell Ramon 30. M. Rogers © (8. L. Chads 72') 7. F. Powell 19. I. Conway 22. D. Greenwood 25. E. Jarowicki