Yes, the Albion desperately wanted to win this game and no, it wasn’t because of Terry Venables or Alan Mullery. The animosity between the men’s teams barely bleeds into the women’s game and I think 99.9% of us are glad about that. In the WSL Brighton vs Palace is at best a rivalry, nothing more. We’re here to make memories, not enemies.

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• For a full recap of the match action courtesy of Bruce Talbot via 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 Seagulls started the game really well, forcing Palace back into their own half by pressing high and working hard to recover and retain possession. Really the only thing they didn’t do was take the lead. Unfortunately, when it comes to Brighton, this type of dominance often precipitates the opposition scoring against the run of play – and in that sense it wasn’t a complete shock to see the Eagles take the lead on 34 minutes.
• A pass back to Chiamaka Nnadozie in the Albion goal, designed to clear their lines, was evicted only as far as Hayley Ladd, who found Annabel Blanchard with way too much time to hit a scorcher into the top left-hand corner of the net. Arturo Ruiz had cautioned how quickly mistakes can be punished in the WSL during his pre-match press conference, and my goodness how he must have been wishing he hadn’t been so prophetic right at that moment.
• Although Brighton continued to push, the game became slightly more chaotic as you could feel the palpable sense of frustration both on and off the pitch. At half-time the message surely would have been, keep your heads up, stay calm, keep playing like you were – and the goals will come.
• From the start of the second period you could see the frustration had turned to determination and the Albion players just looked like they were simply not going to accept what had happened so far. They took control once more and just under 15 minutes into the half they got their reward.
• An excellent shot on target from Emilie Joramo led to a pair of corners and a throw-in. The ball eventually came out to Manu Vanegas who swung a cross in to Caitlin Hayes who had remained in the box after the initial set pieces. Somehow, someway, she rose above three Palace defenders to nod home in style from the edge of the six-yard box and send the Seagulls fans into raptures. Nothing less than she, and the team, deserved.
• In the past an equaliser might have been reason for the team to settle in slightly, but that was not the case here as they continued to push hard for a deserved lead. Just five minutes later the ball once again fell to Joramo on the edge of the box. Her shot lacked venom, but rolled towards the six-yard box where Sophie Peskett was on hand to drive the ball into the net. From potential agony to very real ecstasy in a matter of moments – magical stuff.
• Brighton continued to look for more goals, Maisie Symonds hit the post from range and there were a couple of other half chances as the clock ticked on. Towards the end, given the amount of substitutes and the fact Palace were desperately looking for a response, the action became slightly disjointed – which did nothing for the nerves of the fans as full-time approached.
• Ultimately though the Albion held out to take the deserved 2-1 victory, a scoreline which flattered the visitors who mustered all of 2 shots on target, 35% possession and an xG of 0.33 in total. Palace didn’t play well, but they almost took something from the game, so credit to them for that at least.
• Vanegas took home the Player of the Match award and perhaps rightfully so, but credit also needs to go to Hayes, who was equally imperious at the back and scored the equaliser, as well as Peskett, who bagged the winner after starting on short notice.

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Crystal Palace

• On that viewing I think the Eagles could struggle this season. Fortunately for them, Charlton look destined for the guaranteed drop spot, but if they’re not careful Palace could end up in the relegation playoff.
• There’s still talent on this team though and it was surprising that Lexi Lloyd-Smith only started on the bench given the weakness Brighton have against fast and/or tricky wingers. Beth England battled hard all game for little to no result, but on another day you can see her being far more successful, and Annabel Blanchard I have long since said would do well at a bigger club if afforded the opportunity. Shoutout Pauline Peyraud-Magnin too who is not only a vital veteran presence at the back, but remains one of the best shot-stopping goalkeepers in the world.
• I expected more Palace fans if I’m honest given Crawley isn’t all that far from South London, but the ones who did attend cheered the team loudly and as often as they could. Fair play to them.

Arturo Ruiz Post-Match

• Very happy with the first half, particularly the way the team started was almost perfect, it was just the scoreline that didn’t reflect that. Felt that we could have been better in the final third at times and of course one small mistake in this league and you end up conceding.
• Team talk at the break was essentially that they were playing well, to keep it up and correct one or two technical issues. Knew if they could tidy things up and be more clinical, they could win the game.
• Incredibly pleased with the variety of goalscorers over the past few games and with the current injury situation they do need more goals from the wider team to take up some of the responsibility.
• Peskett was originally slated to be a second-half substitute after playing the full 90 minutes on Wednesday night, but Kiko picked up an injury on Saturday so she was asked to step up – and did so really well.
• No timeframe on Kiko’s return as it had happened so recently – hope to update fans soon.

Other Business

• Kiko came over to talk to the fans for a minute or two and when asked about her injury she replied ‘not too bad’ so hopefully she’s right! She did have a protective boot on, but was walking around without crutches.
• Attendance for the game wasn’t ideal as just 1,690 fans braved the Broadfield on a chilly Sunday afternoon. Not evidence per se, but an indication that just because kickoff times have moved back from 12pm to 2pm for the most part – doesn’t mean tons more people flocking to see the game live. Potentially a bit of post-Amex fatigue setting in too? Difficult to say, but we really need at least 2,000 at every WSL home game now as we build towards the new stadium.
• I hate talking about refereeing because if it’s being done right they should be essentially invisible. How on earth Palace had less fouls awarded against them given the flow of the game and the attacking intent of the Albion, boggles my mind. Except it doesn’t because I watched the officials give countless incorrect decisions, some based on what I can only surmise was guesswork. This is happening week in and week out, and truly I don’t blame the referees themselves. Forget funding initiatives – make them professional and accountable or bring VAR in as soon as logistically possible.
• On a positive note, Brighton finished the weekend 6th in the WSL table, arguably where they deserve to be based on performances this season. With a difficult but winnable tie against Spurs, followed by Liverpool, Everton and Manchester United in the league – the target before the winter break has to be 8+ points.

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The SheGulls Podcast, where we’ll analyse the Crystal Palace 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 afterwards via Spotify and Apple Podcasts.

See you all soon!