Aston Villa were the first visitors to the Amex this season for both Brighton men’s and women’s teams. Results may vary of course and though the Seagulls huffed and puffed on Sunday they just couldn’t blow the Villans house down.

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• For a full recap of the match action on the Official BHAFC Website click: HERE
• Match highlights are available via the Sky Sports 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 or on catch-up any time after broadcast!

Brighton & Hove Albion

• Both sides started quite cautiously, probing away at each others defence for half an hour without any real cutting edge. Kiko Seike seemed to be the primary outlet ball for the Albion, but Villa had clearly identified that ahead of time and she was held to a few speculative crosses in from the right-hand side. Brighton had more of the ball and fashioned a couple of half-chances, but they just couldn’t find the gilt-edged opportunity their play warranted.
• The Seagulls needed to get off the mark somehow and they did just that from a corner on 31 minutes. Fran Kirby’s floated ball in found Caitlin Hayes at the back post who nodded it straight at Akane Okuma in the Villa goal. Unable to hold it, a goalmouth scramble ensued and the ball fell to Gabby George who smashed it home from short range. Brighton took that deserved lead and finished the half out strong with a Marisa Olislagers free kick tipped round the post in the latter stages.
• Villa came out of the break with a high aggressive press, but it wasn’t long before they were forced back into a defensive approach. In particular the Albion battered their opponents box with corners, free kicks and crosses which should have led to them doubling, or tripling, their advantage.
• The addition of both Olaug Tvedten and Olivia Garcia on 55 minutes worked really well again. There’s definitely something to be said for bringing on two direct attacking options when the opponent is starting to flag. No goals on this occasion, but Garcia will be disappointed she didn’t score on 78 minutes after going through one-on-one with Okuma and firing the ball directly at her.
• As the game wore on and wave after wave of Brighton attacks washed up on the shores of the Villa defence, it began to dawn on all in attendance that at 1-0, anything could still happen.
• Those fears were founded on 89 minutes when Villa won a late corner. Lynn Wilms whipped a ball into the box towards the far post and incredibly it found its way directly into the net for the equaliser. Chiamaka Nnadozie ended up on the floor as the set piece unfolded and there was more than a hint of a foul amidst the melee. Amelie Vangsgaard shoved Manuela Vanegas, with no attempt to play the ball, and the Colombian defender then collided with Nnadozie. It should have been called, it wasn’t, but ultimately the Seagulls only had themselves to look at as the game finished a draw.
• The defence had a really good game, particularly with the late-ish addition of George with Moeka Minami out injured. They held the opposition to just two shots in total – one being the goal – which, well, is not one they’ll concede often. After a bit of a wobble against Birmingham, they showed up big here.
• The midfield had a much improved outing, standing firm in front of the defence and playing with purpose in progressing the ball. It was testament to how much control they had that Villa started trying to bypass the centre third of the pitch as the game wore on.
• In some ways to assess the attack we have to assess their primary function – to create opportunities and score goals. With a whopping 25 shots, 8 on target and an xG of 3.17 they certainly did one of those two things. Putting the very actual ball in the back of the very actual net still remains an issue though – probably the biggest and most urgent of Arturo Ruiz’s reign so far.
• Overall, Brighton played incredibly well and the game should have been over, done with and out of sight by the time Villa scored – and yet it wasn’t. The one blot on an otherwise immaculate copybook.

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Aston Villa

• The only thing anyone could really credit Aston Villa for is somehow staying in the game long enough to equalise. Two shots, one on target, one goal – really tells the story of their performance. Not one of their players stood out and even the few who came in with strong reputations – Chasity Grant, Lucia Kendall, Amelie Vangsgaard et al – were disappointing on the verge of being anonymous. A massive amount of credit to the Albion for keeping such undoubted talents so quiet.
• Playing Grant central and Vangsgaard wide seemed a real error of judgement from Natalia Arroyo, particularly looking at how vulnerable Brighton were down the flanks against Birmingham. There surely was a reason behind it, but not one that would appear to validate that decision.
• There wasn’t a large contingent of Villa fans, but those who came – were loud. You can’t ask for more than that as an away team, to hear the support of your own fans. The team might not have deserved a draw, but the supporters did.

Arturo Ruiz Post-Match

• Emily Murphy started ahead of Olivia Garcia and Olaug Tvedten primarily because she best suited the role of a forward who could press the Villa back line.
• Echoed what he said in the official post-match interview, that he would rather this type of game happen in his third week than his fourth month.
• Obviously hopes the lack of cutting edge was an anomaly, but of course they’ll be working on that.
• Hadn’t seen their goal at that point so he wanted to reserve judgement on whether there was a foul in the goalmouth.
• Minami and Charlie Rule were absent through injury. Not sure on the severity, but they will have scans and tests in the coming days to determine recovery timelines.

Other Business

• The attendance was announced as 3,137 which for an Amex game is on the lower end of the scale. However, our home fixture with Villa last season drew 2,219 at the Broadfield – so it is an improvement of sorts.
• With those numbers it was always going to be challenging to create much of an atmosphere, but when chants did break out, they could be heard clearly in the opposite stand. The drum/s also seemed to work well in leading the way for others to join in.
• The club have been really making the effort with the women’s games at the Amex this season and it is absolutely being noticed. Beyond some issues with food service (beyond the club’s control) the improvements were all well received – in particular the free programme. SheGulls have been advocates for programmes being available for all women’s games – not just those at the Amex – and the sheer amount of positive feedback we received on the free version on Sunday vindicates that stance. Thank you to all involved in that decision – all we humbly ask for is more!
• On a personal note, I was privileged to sit in the press box on Sunday to cover the game. As a writer there is real value to gaining a different perspective and in the case of the Amex I feel that value outweighs my impact in the stand. I still intend (and prefer) to sit amongst you all at the Broadfield, providing that fan perspective SheGulls has become known for. I can only do any of this because people seem to like our coverage of the club, whether that be written, audio or visual – so thank you as ever for your support!

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The SheGulls Podcast, where we will discuss the Aston Villa game and look ahead to the Subway Cup game against Charlton on Wednesday, will be live on Monday @ 9pm via YouTube – and available subsequently on demand by clicking on the ‘Live’ tab on the channel menu.

Make sure you tune in on Thursday night too for SheGulls Extra where we’ll review the Charlton match and preview the London City fixture next weekend!

Audio of both episodes will be released later via Spotify and Apple Podcasts.

See you all soon!