Funny old game football isn’t it. Whilst the Red half of the city were attempting to win the Premier League barely ten minutes away at Anfield, the Blue half of the city faced Brighton at Walton Hall municipal park. Some may disagree with me, primarily Liverpool fans I’d assume, but I know where I’d rather have been. Who said this side weren’t as resilient since the winter break? Well, to be truthful, I did, but boy did they prove me wrong on Sunday…

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For a full recap of the match action you can head over to the Albion website HERE courtesy of Heather Miller. Match highlights are available on the official WSL YouTube channel HERE.

The SheGulls Summary

Brighton & Hove Albion

• I mean we needed it right? Five points since Christmas, robbed of a win over Chelsea, playing down to teams like Leicester and Palace – both the team and the fans needed a lift.
• Both of Everton’s goals were almost identical in so far as they were both balls into the box from the right-hand side (Brighton’s left) that were volleyed in.
• The first, despite what the commentator said in the highlights, was in my opinion rather fortunate. A cross from Katja Snoeijs finds Sara Holmgaard at the far post and her shot from the angle cannons off the turf and loops up over Melina Loeck and into the net. Honestly if that was deliberate, Sara Holmgaard is one of the best players in the world. To me, she swings a boot, puts it on target, and what happened, happened. It would be disingenuous of me to say that after conceding the first goal for the 14th time in 20 matches – there wasn’t a feeling of here we go again. The next goal was going to be very important.
• It was Brighton that scored it thankfully. The combination of Kiko Seike’s whipped cross and Michelle Agyemang’s far post run combined for their second goal in two weeks. A wavelength has clearly developed there and perhaps it’s a shame we only have two games left in the season to see it – one of which Agyemang can’t play in.
• Onwards and upwards, back in the game, we can do this! If only Everton hadn’t walked up the other end and retaken the lead within two minutes. It was Toni Payne’s ball this time which Snoeijs took superbly in the air and volleyed it low past the outstretched hand of Loeck. No luck about this one, good cross, sweet hit, goal.
• If I had to put a time stamp on it I’d say around the 30 minute mark, Brighton just switched. I’m not sure if there was a tactical change or whether they just had a collective realisation that they weren’t going to take this any more – but for the rest of the game it was all Albion.
• All Brighton doesn’t necessarily lead to points however, so it was fantastic that they were able to equalise before half time and go into the break all square. A lovely bit of interplay between Fran Kirby and Nikita Parris in the box, remaining calm under pressure, led to Kirby driving home a shot with the outside of her right foot from close range. So many players would have shot early and more than likely had it blocked, but that’s why we have players like Fran and Nikita – they didn’t panic, worked the opening, and scored the goal.
• Of course I’d love to say we went on to win the game easily, but even though it was all Brighton, we just couldn’t convert any of our dominance into goals. As the 90-minutes ticked over on the scoreboard you couldn’t help but feel this one had somehow slipped through our fingers again – despite continued optimism amongst the away support.
• Halfway through four minutes of stoppage time, in a moment I think many of us in attendance will remember for years to come, substitute Rachel McLauchlan slides a pinpoint pass through the Everton defence and into the path of Parris. With trademark aplomb Nikita hits the ball in stride across the keeper and into the far corner of the net. To say we went mad would be the understatement of the year. We make the journeys and support our team no matter what, but damn it feels good to get rewarded with moments like that every now and again.
• I think Dario would have been happy with the performance and of course the result, the only real negatives being that both goals conceded put Everton into the lead and they both came from almost identical scenarios. As I said above, we can’t keep letting our opponents get a head start.
• The stats do back the overall performance up though as Brighton were comfortably ahead in possession, shots, shots on target, passes, pass accuracy and good old xG.
• It did feel like a genuine team effort and for me it would have been hard to pick a player of the game. Kirby got the nod in the end, but Seike is rounding into form nicely at the end of the season, Maisie had a combative game in the midfield and our defence, despite conceding those two goals, were imperious otherwise.

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Everton

• As an opponent I thought Everton played well in patches, particularly in the first half, but they seemed to lose all attacking momentum in the second. What I really appreciated was that they played the game the right way, and whilst the action wasn’t devoid of stoppages, they weren’t in the mindset of just rolling around on the floor and wasting time every chance they got. What a pleasant change!
• Like us they probably feel that, with two or three solid additions, they could start to threaten higher up the table. Honestly, good luck to them, except when they play the Albion of course.
• Being so close to the action down in the corner where we were stood was a novelty nowadays, and honestly I didn’t hate it. The standing can be hard on the legs though so maybe there’s a happy medium to be found somewhere. For such a relatively small ground, essentially located inside a park, Walton Hall did have a sort of charm to it, and whatever happens with Everton Women’s team and where they play going forward, it was nice to have been at least once.
• I had a lovely chat with Julie from Everton Women Supporters’ Club who was incredibly welcoming, enquired about our journey and checked we were all getting on ok. Every single person we came into contact with at the ground from stewards, to the people hanging Everton’s flags, were so helpful and friendly they really do the club and the area credit.

Other Business – Celtic Supporters Edition

• If you haven’t seen the game in any way shape or form, you might not know that there were around 30 Celtic fans at the game who had travelled down from Scotland to support their former captain and club hero Caitlin Hayes. Some of those fans have already been to multiple Albion games to watch her, but for many it was also their first time.
• To me that just shows how much she still means to the fanbase and what an absolute gem of a person, not just a player, we have on our hands. I’ve got that sense ever since speaking to Donna at Celtic Women FC Supporters’ Club when Caitlin initially signed – this goes above and beyond simple fandom.
• Not only does Caitlin take the time to meet every fan, but she actually remembers the children along with their Mum’s and Dad’s and will ask them how they’re getting on with their own football, or how school is. As a parent myself it’s awe inspiring. The children for their part are replete in Caitlin’s trademark pink pre-wrap and sporting either her Celtic shirt or ever increasingly, her Brighton shirt.
• This whole scenario is a real demonstration of the power of the women’s game. Of course you want your team to win, but this is more than that, these are our fellow humans and this sport belongs to us all. When I heard the Celtic fans cheering not just for Caitlin, but the Albion too, I couldn’t help but beam with pride.

Other Business

• Speaking of good people – we were only able to travel to the game because of the kindness and generosity of our Honorary Board Member, Jo Davis. What an inspiration to us all, we love you Jo and every Albion Women’s fan thanks you!
• I’d also like to thank everyone who made the long journey up on the weekend for taking time away from home to come and support the team. I’d also extend that appreciation to everyone who has travelled away this season, you’re all part of building the foundations of what this club can become.

Apologies for the delay completing this review, I blame a late night return from Everton on Sunday and an evening spent watching our U19’s in the Sussex Women’s Challenge Cup last night (Tues) – but I’ll try to do better!

The SheGulls Podcast for this week is already out, so for more analysis of this game, as well as a preview of Arsenal at the Broadfield – do give it a listen!