What a fabulous afternoon it turned out to be on Saturday as the mighty Brighton & Hove Albion took on, checks notes, some team called Manchester United. Not only was a new record crowd set for an Albion women’s home game, with 8369 fans in attendance, but we showed that we can compete with these so-called ‘top four’ teams on the Amex stage.

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You can read the full match report courtesy of Charlie Hanson on the BHAFC website HERE, and if you’d like to watch the highlights you can head over to the official YouTube channel HERE.

I used to call my thoughts on the game simply ‘notes’ but the fact they are the crux of this piece now makes me think they deserve a new moniker. For today’s edition I’m going with:

The SheGulls Summary

Brighton & Hove Albion

• The match itself felt pretty even. Manchester United clearly had the better of the first half, though that was down to the Albion not executing their own game plan as much as anything else. We needed the break to reorganise and in the second half we were a different team, scoring with a smart Nikita Parris header from a Maisie Symonds cross/shot in the 52nd minute.
• The stats lead me to a similar conclusion: Brighton edged the possession, fouls, corners, passes and pass accuracy percentages were almost identical, and whilst United had more shots, most weren’t particularly threatening – demonstrated by the xG of 1.1 for the home side and 1.2 for the visitors.
• Two tallies do concern me slightly though. 40 clearances. Yes 40. That’s a lot of clearances, we only had 25 against Manchester City which puts things into perspective.
• The other is interceptions, which you could also put down to misread or mis-timed passes. Now, we were down to 13 from the 16 at Palace, but for context United had just 2. It still does feel like there is some wasteful passing going on, even anecdotally, but the stats do seem to bear that out.
• Parris’ headed finish for the goal was pure instinct, but it is a testament to her quality that her instinct put the ball into the net rather than 20 yards wide or over the bar. The best goalscorers in the world have that ability to score without thinking, the thinking is done in the build up, in the positioning – scoring the goal is the part that comes naturally. We’re lucky to have her and she appears to have become one of the leading voices in the team – a role she hasn’t perhaps been afforded before – and it suits her.
• Unfortunately Pauline Bremer went down with an injury which meant she had to be replaced by Madison Haley on 40 minutes. We all hope that it is not a long-term serious issue and pass on all our best wishes to her.
• In truth though, I felt that Pauline on the wing again was a misfire. It didn’t work against Palace and it didn’t work against United. Her skillset is in and around the box using her ability to get in behind, pull defenders out of position, and ultimately score goals. On the wing she just doesn’t have the stamina to get up and down with regularity, and almost always ends up cutting the ball back instead of beating a player or getting a cross in. I have a ton of time and admiration for Pauline, but she has to be play in a more central area for me.
• Madi did a good job when she came on and almost scored but for an excellent save from Phallon Tullis-Joyce (who is very underrated IMHO), but it was when Michelle Agyemang and Maisie Symonds replaced Bruna and Marisa Olislagers at half time that the script flipped. Suddenly you had a winger who ran at people, took them on, frightened them with her power, and a midfielder with creativity, vision, and the ability to be a playmaker in attack.
• I think Bruna is an excellent player, and she’s shown glimpses of that Barcelona-esque ability on the ball, but for my money – if we’re playing a loanee – I’d be starting Michelle at this point. I’d be surprised if Dario isn’t heading towards the same conclusion.

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Manchester United

• Other than Grace Clinton (who whisper it quietly, is already regularly outplaying Ella Toone) I didn’t think the Red Devils put us in any real danger. Elisabeth Terland was industrious for basically no result – which we know can happen. Their midfield and attack was solid if unspectacular, perhaps missing the graft and guile of Leah Galton or the departed Lucia Garcia. Celine Bizet played well at right back with licence to go forward, but despite the volume of crosses, Albion dealt with them all capably.
• I’m sure we all appreciate Teri for what she did for the club, but there is still some bitterness amongst the fanbase for how she left and who she left to join. First of all two seasons with a team isn’t long enough to garner ‘club legend’ status and many thought that United were just not enough of a step up to warrant the apparent foregone conclusion that she would go. I mean take Saturday as an example – has she really made a big leap?

Other Business

• How can I not start with the fans – you were all incredible! 8,359 is more than 2,000 over the former record attendance and much closer to the 10,000 we’d love to achieve at the Amex!
• The matchday experience left a little bit to be desired from what I have heard – particularly in terms of staffing and catering. There were large queues to get into the ground, which it’d be good to get some feedback on from fellow fans, and I know that several kiosks ran out of certain foods well before half time due to far more demand than availability. Please do get in touch with any comments or feedback regarding the overall matchday experience – good or bad.
• I thought the referee had an indifferent game in truth, giving picky little fouls occasionally and then ignoring clear ones the next. Consistency is key to me, let the players play the game. No big errors though so no real complaints.

Overall a draw against a team with real quality who hadn’t conceded a WSL goal up until this game, with a record crowd watching on, can’t be considered anything but a success. We must build on this though – in every way possible – on the pitch of course, but perhaps just as importantly, off the pitch.

For a more in depth discussion please do check out the SheGulls Podcast, recording tonight and released Tues/Wed, where Duncan, Ben and Claire will dissect the good, the bad, and the rest from Saturday’s game – available on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.