Looking toward the final stage of the season would have made anyone anxious. With four of the top five teams in the WSL left to play and an FA Cup Quarter-Final tie against Arsenal, away from home, many predicted an unfortunate lack of points and progress to finish the year. That’s the funny thing about momentum though, when it’s on your side, every game is an opportunity rather than an inevitability.

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• For a full recap of the match action courtesy of Luke Nicoli on the Official BHAFC Website click: HERE
• Match highlights are available via the WSL YouTube channel: HERE
• The SheGulls Podcast will be reviewing the game on Monday night from 9pm over on the SheGulls YouTube channel: HERE – where you can watch via the Live tab on catch-up any time after broadcast!

Brighton & Hove Albion

• Truthfully, Albion could have been more than just a goal down after the first few minutes and several by half time. They started so tentatively that City just overran them with the high press, eventually leading to the opener.
• Brighton will be disappointed in the way in which that goal was conceded. First of all Chiamaka Nnadozie plays a pass out from the back to Maisie Symonds who was being closely marked by Kerolin. The City player steals possession and finds Aoba Fujino in acres of space. Fortunately her ball to Bunny Shaw is cut out by Caitlin Hayes, but unfortunately she can only clear it to the edge of the box where Kerolin is waiting to drive the ball home. Questionable decision making and opportunities missed – uncharacteristic from this defensive unit it must be said.
• There is no doubt the Seagulls grew into the game, and they survived some scares whilst creating one or two of their own. Crucially though they were able to score an equaliser prior to half-time putting a very different spin on the second half. The goal itself was an excellent example of pass and move play as Madison Haley, Fran Kirby and Charlie Rule combined to advance the ball into the box where a deft touch from Kirby gave Haley the chance to send the City defence one way whilst she tucked the ball into the bottom corner of the net in the other.
• It makes such a difference to be able to begin with essentially a clean slate after the break rather than having to still fight your way back from a goal down. The equaliser gave Albion crucial momentum and they took advantage of that after the restart.
• Within two minutes of the action getting underway Brighton took the lead. Fran Kirby again showing poise and composure to lay a picture perfect through ball to Kiko Seike who drove at the City goalkeeper from wide on the right. The angle was tight, but Seike did the right thing striking it high with force, and from point blank range the keeper had no chance.
• Of course City went on the offensive, shellshocked slightly from the switch in scoreline, but they struggled to create meaningful chances and it was Brighton who took advantage of that after 65 minutes.
• A long ball from Hayes found Haley who connected with Kirby and Seike to fashion herself a chance on the edge of the six-yard box. The goalkeeper did well to block Haley’s initial shot, but the ball ballooned up into the air and the American forward rose higher than anyone else to nod the ball into the net from close range.
• At 3-1 down City really had to up the ante, but they were still finding it tough to break through the staunch Albion defence. Perhaps inevitably, they did get one back through Bunny Shaw in the 87th minute with a clipped first time finish across the face of Nnadozie’s goal, but it was too little too late.
• The defensive unit won’t want to see that first goal again, but for the majority of the game they dealt well with the multiple attacking threats City possess. Kerolin was far more effective early on and Lauren Hemp was lively, but ultimately couldn’t really contribute – or perhaps more relevantly – wasn’t allowed to contribute. Kerstin Casparij had so little joy she was actually substituted mid-way through the second half. Nnadozie was absolutely immense again between the sticks for the Seagulls once again and she spared everyone else’s blushes on at least a couple of occasions.
• The quality of the passing game was slightly sporadic, with players almost wanting to be too precise or over-ambitious at times. There were a few too many ‘who was that to’ moments to feel comfortable, but equally some of the phases that led to goals or shots were absolutely sublime.
• To score three very different goals against such a strong team just shows how the team has adapted to not having a recognised striker. There have been games this season where Brighton have undoubtedly needed that focal point, but this wasn’t one of them.
• There has been a recurring issue with belief within the team on occasion. Games lost where more confidence, calmness and the ability to be comfortable on the ball may have changed the result include Manchester City away, Aston Villa away, London City at home and West Ham away to name a few. It is amazing though how that can be turned around in such a short space of time. The players followed the (slightly modified) game plan against Arsenal in the FA Cup, they executed it well and never gave an inch, even when they were under massive pressure towards the end of the match. So when Manchester City took the lead on Saturday – in slightly scrappy circumstances – it didn’t feel like time to hit the panic button. Even though the remainder of the first half still went the way of the Sky Blues, Brighton’s equaliser meant they could come out in the second half with a clean slate and I’m sure some astute tactical observation from our Head Coach. From then on it was a different contest, no longer was this City the league-leaders, the team full of stars, the unstoppable force – this was Man City the 11 players, just like the Albion had – no more, no less. I believe it was Master Yoda who once said ‘Try not. Do or do not. There is no try’. On Saturday Brighton didn’t try – they just did.

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Dario Post-Match Press Conference

• Always confident that Brighton could win, which is why the first half was quite disappointing, he felt that they put themselves under unnecessary pressure and weren’t there at the start.
• The first half was effectively on them (Brighton), rather than Manchester City doing anything unexpected. Players were getting pulled out of position and they were a bit reluctant with and without the ball.
• Really pleased by the reaction, would be easy for heads to go down, not our day, but they went out after half-time, scored two deserved goals and had opportunities to score more.
• Can’t understate the role of Fran Kirby because of her experience and leadership. In particular as they finish the season she will be crucial in those important moments.
• Identified belief as a key element in the victory today, but it is a process, they will develop in steps and this game was an important step.
• Can be challenging when players have been away with their national teams and have a limited amount of sessions to re-acclimate to the Brighton style of play.
• Jelena Cankovic is fine, she came off due to cramps – no major concerns there.
• Fan support is absolutely massive and he is very thankful for it. They want to reward them home and away by giving them performances they can be proud of, even if the outcome isn’t always what they might want.

Manchester City

• Manchester City played well for the most part, but they lacked some of the polished attacking play and cutting edge that they are most associated with.
• Bunny Shaw was a menace all game – as expected – and the defence did well to reduce her to a handful of shots. It was almost inevitable she would score eventually, but that is why Brighton needed to score themselves rather than dig in, and ultimately it worked.
• The City fans were excellent and were right behind their team throughout the match. Other than their three fellow top four stalwarts they definitely brought the most away fans – so there’s no excuse for half the other teams that are far nearer to us!
• I know many of them wanted Charlie Rule sent off for a grab on Yui Hasegawa, but it genuinely looked like their height difference meant she accidentally collared the Japanese player round the neck instead of somewhere more appropriate. It was absolutely unintentional and not necessarily at the threshold of reckless conduct, so a yellow seemed appropriate. I would liken it to the player who bops a opponent in the face as they are trying to shield the ball, not a deliberate act, no real violence, just two athletes moving at speed where one doesn’t anticipate the movement of the other.

Other Business

• The overall attendance of 2,262 was a bit disappointing – partly because of the game being on a Saturday rather than a Sunday and partly because you only play the eventual WSL Champions once at home every season – so you’d think fans would turn out to see the team who will likely lift the trophy. World famous players – tick, Lionesses – tick, top goalscorer in the WSL – tick, so why did it draw less than the home game against Liverpool?
• Thought the officiating crew had a good day. The threshold for fouls was set high from the outset and the few yellow cards that were dished out were mainly for dissent. That meant some potential yellows went unpunished and arguably why a red wasn’t really on the radar for Rule when she clashed with Hasegawa. The consistency seemed to be there, and that is primarily what fans ask for, so a job well done.

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The SheGulls Podcast – where we will discuss the victory over the blue half of Manchester and preview our upcoming game against the red half – will be live Monday @ 9pm on YouTube – and available subsequently on demand by clicking on the ‘Live’ tab on the channel menu.

Audio of the entire episode will then be released later in the week via Spotify and Apple Podcasts.

See you all soon!