Wet, yes, windy, yes, West Ham, yes they were there too. Ordinarily a challenging tie, on this occasion made all the more crucial with Brighton sat 12th in the WSL. Too early to call this a ‘must-win’ game? Maybe, but never too early to start climbing that table…

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• For a full recap of the match action courtesy of 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

• The game started off scrappily, both sides needing time to adapt to the conditions on a slippery surface. A couple of corners for both teams went nowhere and it looked like the match could turn into a real war of attrition.
• That was until a cross into the West Ham box was cleared to Maisie Symonds around 30 yards from goal in the 29th minute. She proceeded to hit a ferocious thunderbastard of a half-volley into the top right-hand corner that the goalkeeper could only glance at as the ball rattled the rain off the net. No doubt an iconic goal for an iconic player and one that will be replayed for years to come. Watch it back for the strike, but make sure to stay for the celebration afterwards (pictured above).
• The Hammers huffed and puffed as they tried to get back into it, but even though they technically registered 8 shots before the break, only one was on target and it posed little threat to Chiamaka Nnadozie in the Albion goal. The defence also stood firm in what must have been a very difficult environment to focus in.
• Brighton have to take the lead in more games if they want to start accumulating points, so Arturo Ruiz would have been pleased to go into half-time at least a goal to the good. Doubtless the draw with Villa would have given both the players and the manager caution though as to what can happen if the game isn’t killed off.
• Arguably the weather conditions were worse in the second-half than they were in the first, but the Seagulls picked up where they left off, controlling the play and looking to add to their tally.
• In the 63rd minute a chipped cross from Marisa Olislagers took a slight deflection which sent the ball spinning across the face of the goal. Kiko Seike stretched for it and couldn’t make contact, but Fran Kirby was following in behind to slide the ball home. Not quite the nail in the coffin with just under a third of the match to play, but it did seem to break the spirit of the West Ham players.
• Just 3 minutes later a misplaced pass by Eva Nystrom was cut out by Emilie Joramo who played Seike in as she drove into the box. With little time to think, the Japanese forward took the ball in her stride and deftly chipped the onrushing keeper.
• At 3-0 and with chances scarce the Irons were never coming back and the game meandered slightly towards the end and a thoroughly deserved win for Brighton.
• Maisie Symonds absolutely ran the game from midfield and even setting aside the sensational goal, her progressive movement and attacking vision was impeccable. How Sarina Wiegman continues to overlook her for England beggars belief.
• The forward line worked really hard on what must have been a tricky surface to control the ball on. With Seike and Kirby scoring, Garcia beating players right left and centre, and Nadia Krezyman due back soon (we hope) – they are going to be a very difficult unit to defend against.
• The concentration levels in the defence needed to be very high given the weather and they stepped up to the plate big time. It was interesting to see them morph from a back 3 to a 4 and sometimes even a 5, but it worked, they kept a clean sheet, and you can’t ask for anything more.
• Brighton ended the weekend in 9th place in the WSL table, leapfrogging the likes of Crystal Palace, Liverpool and West Ham themselves. Hopefully this game becomes a springboard of sorts to send the Seagulls soaring up the league.

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West Ham

• It’s impossible not to feel for the West Ham fans that made the journey down to the South Coast. Not only was the weather absolutely atrocious, but their team didn’t perform much better as it turned out. A couple of key stats that don’t auger well for them; just 54% of tackles won to Brighton’s 90% and 35% of aerial duels won to Brighton’s 65%. In attacking areas not much better; just 2 shots on target from 13 attempts, and a miserly 0.14 xG from those shots on target.
• The fact that Charlton are in the WSL will provide some comfort for teams hovering around the bottom of the league, but West Ham have enough from what I’ve seen to be clear of a direct threat of relegation. They may have to rely on their home form to keep the naysayers at bay though.

Arturo Ruiz Post-Match

• Part of their tactics to give Kirby a more attacking role and it worked really well. Arturo has spoken to her a lot over the past few weeks and she has also helped him in her role as one of the leadership group.
• They gave a lot of thought to the weather – in particular which end they would be playing towards in each half. Felt we had an advantage in the first half, but the work they put in and their efforts even to go in 1-0, meant that they were set up for success in the second half too.
• Hasn’t necessarily been asking more from Maisie in an attacking sense, but feels the patterns they play will afford her more options to score or assist, and we’re seeing the benefits of that.
• He felt that to get a decisive win over a good team such as West Ham was the most pleasing thing. It wasn’t necessarily the opponent playing badly, more so that Brighton were able to impose their will on the game.
• Interestingly West Ham set up in a system they have only utilised once before this season and as such he had to adapt how his own team set up pre-match. He was exceptionally pleased that his players showed the adaptability to cope with those changes and still dominate the game.
• Very proud that so many fans came out in such challenging conditions and set a new highest attendance for a game at the Amex this season.

Other Business

• The attendance for the game was reported as 4,373 although whether all those people were in the same place at the same time is debatable. Some spent the entire game on the concourse sheltering in place and more joined them after half time to watch the end of the match on the TV screens. Either way it was inspiring to see so many people braving the weather to come out and support their club.
• Another free programme and another big tick from the fans I spoke to. Unfortunately some of them ended up a bit worse for wear due to the rain, but many found a dry copy as they exited the ground. Fair play to all the entertainers, bands, DJ etc on the day for trying to keep everyone warm and keep spirits up.
• Rest assured that even in my privileged position in the Press Box I still got absolutely soaked. It did make me wonder how you could get so wet, even say 15-20 rows back in a stadium with a roof, but again one for another day I think I have finally dried out now you’ll all be pleased to hear!
• Lia Walti held her book event at The Terrace after the final whistle. Attendees were treated to a brief Q&A and then a book signing by the legendary midfielder herself. We wish Lia all the best with her creative endeavours and you can check out an exclusive interview with her, about the book, on our TikTok channel right now!

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The SheGulls Podcast, where we’ll analyse the West Ham game in more detail, will broadcast live tonight (Mon) @ 9pm via YouTube – and will be available on demand shortly afterwards by clicking on the ‘Live’ tab on the channel menu.

Audio of the episode will be released shortly via Spotify and Apple Podcasts.

Keep your eyes and ears peeled for SheGulls Extra on Thursday this week where we’ll be reviewing the Subway Players Cup game against Wolves, previewing our WSL tie with Crystal Palace, and getting the lowdown on the loan report…

See you all soon!