Well, well, well…we waited, we hoped, and when it finally came, my goodness did we enjoy a thumping victory in our home opener against Everton on Saturday. Four goals and a clean sheet, yes you read that right, four goals and a clean sheet. Not since September 2021 and 5-0 win over Birmingham have we seen that combination.

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Truth be told I was high over the Atlantic in a metal tube when the actual game took place, but I had an inkling that it was good news when I landed at Heathrow and received well over 50 messages on my various Brighton groups. Having now watched the full game via YouTube I can understand why everyone was so excited!

It is my firm belief though that our match reports need to be written as experienced live at the time, otherwise we might as well just watch the highlights every week and not bother with the rest. Therefore, in terms of actually describing the nuts and bolts of the game I would direct you to the club’s website HERE written by Bruce Talbot. I have however put together my usual notes on the performance which you can enjoy below:

Notes

• Kiko Seike take a bow. A hat-trick on debut, in her first ever domestic game outside of Japan – just wow. If this is her whilst she’s settling in, other clubs need to seriously watch out for her this season. All three of her goals were excellent in their own right and demonstrated both technical ability and real composure.
• The pressure and intensity the team displayed was incredible. This wasn’t just simply ‘pushing up’, this was a concerted tactical effort to win the ball back as soon as possible, as high up the pitch as possible. For large swathes of the game Everton just couldn’t cope with it.
• How refreshing was it to see that, when we advanced in attacking areas, it wasn’t just the lone figure of Elisabeth Terland in and around the box. Heck Kiko scored three and she wasn’t even our quote/unquote ‘striker’. More goals from everywhere please!
• We also continued to attack once we went 1-0, 2-0, 3-0 and even 4-0 up. That is what top teams do, kill the opposition off, remove that element of hope, of doubt. Those that batten down the hatches after going in front will never really have any sustained success in todays game.
• If there was a ‘formation’ it was certainly very fluid, and I wonder if the club as a whole is shifting towards Men’s First Team coach Fabian Hurzeler’s ethos of players not necessarily being assigned an arbitrary position, more so each player being given a set of tasks or options that they need to fulfil at any given time.
• One player who clearly benefited from this was Poppy Pattinson who in my opinion had her best game in an Albion shirt. Freed from the rigidity of the left full-back role, she was allowed to get both forward and back when required without fear of being caught wildly out of position.
• Another player who seemed to benefit from the change of tactics was Vicky Losada who had more time on the ball and crucially more options to choose from when she found herself in space. There were maybe one or two loose passes she’d like to have back, but I think for now we’ll put those down to it being the first game of the season and the team still needing time to get their passing game on the exact same wavelength.
• I never thought I’d hear Bruna and Bremer off and Parris and Cankovic on for the Albion. A true mark of how far the squad has come this season.
• Couple of minor concerns – of course there almost always will be. The passing around the back still looked slightly risky at times, in particular when the ball is recycled from the midfield back to the defence. Maria had a couple pinged back at her far too aggressively and Guro had one go past her for a corner. There has to be a balance between keeping the ball moving quickly and efficiently, but allowing the defence not to end up under pressure of our own making.
• I was a real fan of how far up the defensive line pushed up, however we did look like we could be vulnerable to the long ball should we face a team who can execute that tactic more effectively. It will be interesting to see how it works against Manchester City with the likes of Hemp and Kelly who, if they get in behind, won’t be caught.
• Maisie Symonds came on and shortly after an excellent pass, got caught on the ball, scythed down an Everton player in return and received a yellow card. Not only was this rather cynical – it could have led to a goalscoring opportunity for Everton. Everyone makes mistakes, and overall her performance was solid beyond that blip – perhaps just a case of coming on as a substitute and wanting to influence the game a little too much.
• I thought Inma Gabarro was Everton’s best player by far. I spy a potential replacement for Vicky in a year or two.
• Best wishes to Aurora Galli who went down with a nasty injury just before full-time. It looked non-contact, or minimal at least, but all the players reacted with immediate concern. It hasn’t been confirmed, but obviously we all fear the dreaded ACL curse, so we will keep our fingers crossed for better news.
• Truthfully I didn’t think our penalty was a penalty, certainly it was one you want for you, but hate against you. Personally I felt that the Everton defender had her arm tucked into her body and it wasn’t in an unnatural position – but we move – because god knows we’ve had some stonewall ones turned down in the past.
• Referee Lauren Impey had an excellent game and was almost invisible, just as good officials should be. My own opinion on the penalty is just that, and I certainly wouldn’t argue that it was a mistake. Well done Lauren, and thank you.
• The minutes applause in remembrance of Maddy Cusack was impeccably observed. As always our thoughts are with all those affected by her passing.
• The announced attendance was 2,245 which I think is both positive and negative depending how you view it. For a game at the Broadfield it is probably about average, especially when you take into account the fact that Everton had essentially no travelling support – would the club like it fuller though – absolutely!
• The singing section also looked quite sparsely populated, however, I thought the actual atmosphere was higher than it was last year. Funny what a good team can do for a crowd!
• A lot of people ‘in the know’ had also speculated a drop-off in attendances this season as there was no major national competition to build off the back of – so from that perspective, an average crowd, could be a sign of the resilience inherent in the Brighton fanbase.

There will be a SheGulls podcast up this week with a thorough dissection of the game if you’d prefer to listen to a more in depth debate. We also talk about our bold predictions for this season, as well as looking ahead briefly to Manchester City away.

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