After last week’s win over West Ham many fans were bullish about the prospect of facing Everton, particularly without their first choice goalkeeper and one of their star forwards. Where they foresaw fireworks, what they actually got was more like a Catherine Wheel – good, solid entertainment, but without the wow factor of a Mega Star Blazer or Jupiter Thunderbastard. More to work on for Dario and the gang, but as we all know, the mark of a good team is whether they can ‘win ugly’ when push comes to shove.

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For a full recap of the match action head over to the Albion website: HERE
Match highlights are available on the official WSL YouTube channel: HERE

The SheGulls Summary

Brighton & Hove Albion

• Just because it wasn’t the most entertaining of games doesn’t mean it wasn’t an edge-of-the-seat affair and the scoreline reflects how tense the action was at times. In perspective, the fact that both defences played well enough to restrict their opponent to just a handful meaningful chances, is a positive for those units at least.
• Sometimes you can look at the statistics and they just don’t tally up with the so-called ‘eye test’. In this instance though, it felt like Brighton had the better chances and deserved to win the game, but for the most part it was pretty even – and the numbers back that up. 50/50 possession, 8 shots apiece (with the Albion leading those on target 5-2), pass accuracy just over the 80% mark for both teams, and an xG of 1.1 for the hosts versus 0.6 for the visitors.
• The main point of action to cover is essentially the goal which came in the 26th minute. Fran Kirby drove into space down the right-hand side after winning possession back and crossed towards the far post. Rosa Kafaji was slightly beyond the ball so she flicked her leg behind her, presumably in attempt to get some form of shot away. Whilst the ball didn’t go towards goal it did deflect back to Michelle Agyemang who was in a good position on the edge of the six-yard box. Although the bounce was tricky she managed to cushion the ball down and do her best to volley it towards the net. There was a tangible noise of both relief and joy as it went over the line beyond the despairing defenders. It wasn’t the prettiest of finishes, but who cares – they all count, Michelle is off the mark and fingers crossed this is the first of many.
• Let’s talk about Michelle whilst we applaud her goal. I think she’s been excellent so far this season, not everything has gone her way, but that happens and is part of the learning curve that she is on. Sometimes she can get frustrated and again, she just wants to do well, you cannot fault that. I honestly think of Brighton, Arsenal and England fans – it is us who are the most patient and understanding of the bunch. Whilst most supporters of the other two will just be looking at how many goals she has scored and if the answer is none, or very few, they will ask what the issue is – because she’s too good for the Albion right? Well maybe one day she will be, but at the moment, we are a vital part of her journey and the truth is – she is not the finished article. She needs minutes and match experience which ultimately is why she was sent back out on loan and Arsenal just can’t offer her that as it stands. Brighton fans can appreciate the effort she puts in, they can see that the opportunities are coming, and so should the goals in due course. We are patient, we just need everyone else to be too because the pressure on her shoulders is already immense and elements of the media adding to it constantly is just not helpful whatsoever.
• Why just the one goal? A combination of a few familiar issues in truth. Although there were 8 shots, 5 on target, nothing other than the goal really challenged stand-in keeper Emily Ramsey. Part of that was Everton putting Brighton under immediate pressure when they lost the ball, particularly in their own half, forcing quick decisions and low-yield passes which the Albion attack found difficult to negotiate. Some of that also has to fall on the shoulders of the players involved in the build-up though as the Toffees racked up a whopping 14 interceptions. Essentially, not enough good positions were turned into good goalscoring opportunities and one would assume that is where Dario’s attention will be focused leading up to the Spurs game.
• At the risk of sounding like a broken record, the defence was absolutely immense again. In three home games they have only conceded one single goal, and that was from a penalty awarded against Chiamaka Nnadozie – nothing they could have done about that. From a defence where you always thought they’d be liable to let in more than the attack could score – it looks like we have completely flipped the script to where we might just be one of the best defensive teams in the league. We haven’t even got Maelys Mpome back 100% yet and Manuela Vanegas has yet to make her debut. Quite frankly that saves Dario Vidosic the task of telling them they can’t get into the team because our back four has been so good it wouldn’t be right to make a change.

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Everton

• Everton are a bit of an enigma this season. After scoring four in their opening game against Liverpool it looked like they might finally be an attacking force to be reckoned with, but with only one goal in the following three in the WSL maybe not. Kelly Gago was undoubtedly a big miss, but even Katja Snoeijs and the vaunted Ornella Vignola were largely anonymous. In contrast they seemed solid defensively and played a disruptive style that should see them do reasonably well at restricting opposition chances as the season progresses.
• One thing that perhaps flew under radar was the early yellow card for Ruby Mace in the 22nd minute, which it should be said, was entirely deserved. Although she remained a thorn in our side, she obviously had to reign herself in after the booking and lost some of the edge she usually plays with. We’ll come to the referee in a moment, but applying the law correctly regardless of the time on the clock should be automatic, but isn’t, so credit where it is due.
• The Everton supporters are always great and it’s a shame to hear they don’t have any form of away travel put on by the club – paid for or otherwise. Come on WSL clubs, time to pull your fingers out and get fans to games!

Other Business

• After the fantastic showing of sports(wo)manship between Moeka Minami and West Ham’s Riko Ueki last week, it was a pleasure to see four excellent Japanese players plying their trade on Sunday, with another on each bench for a total of six in the matchday squads. It was also fantastic to see some Japanese fans taking in the women’s game as it is well known that the community turn out for Kaoru Mitoma at the Amex, so if we can draw fans to watch Moeka, Kiko Seike and Fuka Tsunoda, that would be fantastic – and above all they deserve it.
• We do unfortunately have to mention the referee Stacey Pearson here. For the best part of 70 minutes the game seemed to be played in good faith, neither team were angels, nor was it mean spirited or ugly – and Pearson seemed to manage the back-and-forth well. Then the ball goes out of play for a throw-in over by the West Stand and rolls down towards the dugout. Rachel McLauchlan goes over to the touchline to take it and as she does so Dario throws the ball back towards her whilst simultaneously there is a cone with a ball on top immediately in front of her. Now if you want to time waste – here’s how – ignore Dario’s ball, pretend it doesn’t exist and let it roll onto the pitch. Pick up the ball on the cone and throw it as normal – two balls on the pitch, retake it – that’s good for thirty seconds at least. Instead, with a ball bouncing towards her and one on the cone, she elects to catch the ball and ready herself to take the throw. Immediately and without hesitation Pearson, with (in this writer’s opinion) unwarranted aggression, shouts something along the lines of – there’s a ball on the cone – and books her. No warning, no calm communication, just unjustified attitude and over the top officiating. In a world where you only get booked the THIRD time you hold onto the ball too long as a goalkeeper, how can you get booked instantly for wasting what, 1 or 2 seconds at the absolute most. Unfortunately after that every decision was a yellow card, warranted or not and the game became very scrappy from then on. Strangely enough, if you want to check this out for yourselves, you can’t because it’s conveniently cut around in even the full game replay footage. When we need more transparency and accountability, why is there less? It looks like there’s something to hide, rightly or wrongly.
• Attendance was down again. From 2,219 for Villa, we dipped to 1,810 for West Ham and now just 1,722 for Everton. It’s not the weather, it’s not the team or results – so why? There are a couple of external factors at play. Love them, hate them, don’t mind them – these 12 midday kickoff times are absolutely useless for people who have girls that play in an organised football league as their fixtures almost always take place Sunday morning. There are others who will not set aside a lifetime of going to Church or other commitment, simply to watch the Albion who happen to now be playing earlier. To arrest the slide there is only one answer – you have to make people WANT to come, do something outside the box, find unique ways of engaging fans, because at the moment the potential of a complimentary flag is just not cutting it. People flock to the Emirates because it’s cool, because it’s an event, a must, not just a game of football – anyone not looking at ways they can do the same are watching fans slip through their fingers on a weekly basis otherwise.

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The SheGulls Podcast was recorded last night will be released soon – so for more analysis of both the Everton and Portsmouth games and a preview of Spurs away in the WSL – do give it a listen. Hope to see some of you on the coach on the way up there!

See you all soon as always!