This was supposed to be the game when things got back on track, when we snapped out of our current poor run of form and returned to winning ways at home against our ‘rivals’ who currently sit bottom of the Women’s Super League. Well you know what they say about best laid plans…

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For a recap of the in-game action do head over to the Albion website HERE and read the article courtesy of Bruce Talbot. Game highlights are available via the official WSL YouTube channel HERE.

The SheGulls Summary

Brighton & Hove Albion

• I would never normally talk about the referee so far up my list of notes, and I certainly try to refrain from overtly criticising the officials in general. In this case though, a poor decision by referee Stacey Fullicks completely changed the game. On 47 minutes Maisie Symonds makes an attempt to tackle Aimee Everett. The Palace players’ touch leaves the ball there to be won, but just before Maisie can get her foot in, Everett just toes it away from her. Consequently the Albion player is slightly late and effectively lands on the same toe Everett gets to the ball with. It wasn’t reckless, it wasn’t violent, it wasn’t high up on the foot and it certainly wasn’t what some would refer to as a ‘leg-breaker’. In fact Symonds’ momentum stops at the tackle site itself – she doesn’t ‘go through’ the player. It was late, and at full speed it doesn’t look fantastic, but both players are aggressively moving towards the ball, which makes the collision appear more impactful than it actually was. Part of me can see why it was given in isolation, but in the context of a physical back-and-forth game, it was baffling. Particularly when, after 65 minutes, Palace sub Clarissa Larisey makes almost an identical challenge, if not more reckless, on Maria Thorisdottir which elicited – you guessed it – just a yellow. The inconsistency in refereeing at this level is incomprehensible to me. Week after week, game after game, shoulder barges are a yellow card sometimes, other times not even a foul. Strong tackles are red cards, other times they’re not even blown up for. It HAS to change, a standard needs to be set, matches must be refereed to a level standard, league wide. At the moment games are being ruined by constant inconsistencies in officiating, and I refuse to believe it’s just incompetence – there must be more at play than that.
• Whilst Brighton certainly had the better of the first half, they still only registered two shots on target, and their goal came from an unforced error by the the Palace keeper. The attacking output from the team just hasn’t been there in 2025 and it shows just how much Fran Kirby is missed. Whilst the injuries at the back have undoubtedly affected the personnel and shape further forward, we can’t realistically expect to improve our results if we don’t generate chances and convert some of those chances into goals.
• The Palace equaliser just comes from fatigue I think. They get an overload down the left as our defence is pulled out of shape, a hopeful ball is rolled across the box and of course it falls to My Cato who bumbles it hard enough from six-yards out that it hits the back of the net. A disappointing one to concede, and there looks to be a clear obstruction on Rachel McLauchlan in the build-up, but it felt like it had been coming since the Albion went down to ten.
• If I’m brutally honest, it didn’t shock me that this was a game between the two teams with the worst form in the league at the moment. Again did Brighton look the better – yes, but were they dominant? Were Palace playing with their backs to the wall? Were the opposition ‘lucky’ to go in only 1-0 down? No to all three in my humble opinion.
• In two games against the worst team in the WSL, we have scored one goal which was either a foul or a goalkeeper error and one which was a definite goalkeeper error. We haven’t scored a legitimate, well-earned goal this season against Crystal Palace. Reason to panic, not at all, but reason for concern – I’d say so.
• Some may have been surprised to see Melina Loeck come in for Sophie Baggaley in goal for a league fixture, but I for one wasn’t. Unfortunately for Sophie, her last couple of games haven’t gone great, and with Melina playing well in the cup games behind her, it felt like a change was earned if not just plain needed. I have no doubt Baggers can work her way back into the starting eleven at some stage, but until Melina gives us a reason to doubt her abilities, I think we’re all behind her.
• Nobody played badly, but you could also argue that nobody excelled either. Two players I’d point to just because they were at 100% effort, 100% of the time, are Madison Haley and Nikita Parris. I thought Madi once again got forward and back well, to the point where, the more I see her play, the more I wonder if she wouldn’t be better deployed more centrally where she could have more impact. Nikita just gives it socks from the first minute to the last. She was pretty bereft of service yesterday, and Palace had her marked out of the game at times, but her sheer determination was ever present and we needed her to help us gut the game out towards the end.
• The ‘technical errors’ Dario has spoken about are still prevalent throughout. Too many easy passes miss the mark, too many gaps aren’t exploited, too many open players go unnoticed. That’s not to say we don’t play well in patches, just that we’re often the architects of our own downfall – or at least we don’t take advantage of what the opponent gives us – which has to be frustrating for the manager.
• We are still unbeaten at home, which is a heck of an achievement given what happened last season, and that is something to be really proud of. We were leading in this game, then the sending off happens, we tried to hang on, and we almost did. Even after the equaliser we fashioned a couple of chances to retake the lead, one ending with Marisa Olislagers hitting the post. There is quality in this team, there is fight, we just have to see it more regularly and for longer periods of play.

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Crystal Palace

• I thought Palace pretty much played as expected. They sat deep and tried to counter for the most part – certainly until the sending off. I still think they should be doing better in the WSL than they are based on how they’ve played against us – but maybe they’re just extra motivated against their ‘rivals’.
• I have no idea why Annabel Blanchard was on the bench as she was easily their best player in the reverse fixture and she looked good again as a substitute here. I think she is a free agent in the summer and is absolutely the type of player that could improve the Albion midfield. I also thought Cato played well, but that is less surprising considering the fee Palace paid for her.

Other Business

• I think the crowd was around 2400, which for a match against the bottom team in the league I think is pretty good, albeit they are considered sort-of enemies – despite the women’s team having incredibly little to do with Alan Mullery or Terry Venables.
• Big thanks to the match announcer for mentioning the fan-led coach travel for next weekend’s FA Cup game against Villa. If you didn’t know about it already, get booking quick sharp!

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There were, can you believe it, several more contentious decisions during the game – so for a more in depth discussion please do check out the SheGulls Podcast, recording Monday for release Tues/Wed, where Duncan, Ben and Claire will discuss this game and look ahead to Aston Villa in the FA Cup on Saturday.

Duncan and Claire (Ben tbc) will be on the coach to Walsall so do come and say hello if you spot us!