Aston Villa manager Gemma Davies praised Jodie Hutton’s maturity after the young midfielder’s hat-trick inspired a comeback victory over Sheffield United in the SSE FA Women’s Cup Fifth Round.

The manager watched on as the 18-year-old also scored the winning penalty after extra time to secure a dramatic win and reach the quarter finals where West Ham United await.

That perfect afternoon also saw Hutton win the SSE Women’s FA Cup Player of the Round award, with Davies feeling there was no better recipient of the gong.

“All of us at the club are so proud. She’s not only a phenomenal talent, but such a great person as well. She deserves this more than anybody else,” she said.

“This is all down to her and her family, who are fundamental to her success. I don’t know anyone who deserves it more than her.”

“To play the way that we did after going 3-1 down and then win on penalties – it took a huge shift.

“For such a young footballer, she’s very grounded – her dad Wayne keeps her feet firmly on the floor. “The way she’s handled herself throughout the game and with things going on at home has been exceptional.”

Villa recovered from five losses in the opening six games but remain in seventh place with no feasible hope of promotion to the top tier.

An unlikely cup run could mean the Villains end up achieving the impossible and pick up the coveted silverware come May.

But for Davies and Villa, the priority is furthering the development of players like Hutton, who spent last week in the England U18 training squad.

Like most teams in the FA Women’s Championship, Aston Villa are a semi-professional outfit, meaning the players have limited training time, but Davies was full of praise for her side’s ability to compete.

“Our philosophy as a club focuses on bringing young players through – the average age of our squad is 20. A lot of our core work is to push these kids to go as far as possible,” she said.

“We’re lucky to have a very driven bunch – and Jodie is a great example of that.

“This was a long time coming. It was a slow start to the season and it was tough to take at the time.

“But we knew, with the way we were working and developing all the time, results like these would come.

“We’re confident ahead of the West Ham game. We know what we can do and how to perform on the big stage.

“The biggest thing is we trust each other – and that’s so powerful. We’re definitely going to give West Ham a good game of football, if not more.”

As the energy behind women’s football, SSE’s ambition is to support girls of all ages in England, helping them join in football from grassroots to the elite level.  For more information on SSE’s sponsorships and activities visit sse.co.uk