City fell behind on the quarter-hour mark in Sunday's Northern Premier Division clash at the Nest, when Monique Robinson slotted home from the penalty spot but responded well with chances for Lauren Hailes and Freya Symonds.

Riya Mannu’s second-half rocket sealed a seventh straight victory for the Baggies, but in slipping down to eighth in the WNL standings the Canaries’ boss remains determined to stick to the plan that had delivered 10 league points for the newly-promoted club.

“Of course the result is disappointing, at times we were able to have good spells of possession but we have to turn those into high quality opportunities,” said Northeast.

“That was the story of the first half, I felt. In the second half they put us under a higher level of pressure and we weren’t quite able to prise the opposition out of their structure. In the second goal we’ve been undone by a fantastic strike and you must applaud that.

“Sometimes in the duels and transitional moments they were coming out with the ball more than us. That’s a staple of our team and we want to control transitions.

“We won’t change our processes and we’ll go again next week.”

City's players and coaching staff looked bemused with the referee’s decision to award a penalty for an alleged handball against right-back Zofia Szczech, allowing the visitors to take control early on.

Northeast argued that contact she felt from behind, courtesy of the West Brom attacker, was the cause for Szczech's arm taking an unnatural position.

“Zof has got herself across the player and felt some contact, hence her body’s then in an awkward position,” said Northeast.

“When you feel contact, your arm’s going to be in an unnatural position. That’s how she felt and how we saw it, but I need to look at it in greater detail to know exactly what happened. We’ll have some decisions as tight as that go our way.”

Evie Williams’ return to the pitch following a spell of six weeks sidelined with injury was a very welcome sight for staff and fans alike, coming on for Drew Wilson in the second half.

The centre-back was delighted to get some minutes “at an important time” for the club - with a clash with Liverpool Feds at Carrow Road on November 8 fast approaching - and believes teams are tactically showing them the respect their home form deserves.

“It’s been a long six weeks but it’s definitely nice to be out there, the girls in the teams we play against are really good,” said Williams. “I don’t think there’s too much of a jump from tier four to this level and we’ve managed it really well.

“We pride ourselves in being strong at home, it’s a great atmosphere. West Brom were playing with five at the back and one in front, I think that shows a lot of respect towards us. Not just how we feel, but how teams are perceiving us in the league.”

Absent from Sunday’s squad was City starlet Issy Moore, who picked up a minor knock that ruled her out from selection.

Northeast commended Williams for her hard work during rehabilitation and added he welcomes renewed competition at the back and elsewhere as City target a new run of form.

“What we’ve done this season is made ourselves a team that can play good football at times but also be very difficult to beat,” he said.

“Like with Evie, we’ve got players returning from injury soon. We’re looking forward to that, and we’ll just raise our levels, compete, and win games.

Eyes are already on Norwich’s showpiece fixture at Carrow Road next month, which Northeast called “a special place for the players”, but before that face Redditch in the Women’s FA Cup on Sunday, and return to league action at Peterborough United.