Above: @LiverpoolFCW
By Ruby Joanne
Brighton welcomed Liverpool to the Broadfield Stadium for another 90 minutes of Barclays WSL magic. Both sides were desperate to take away those all so important 3 points, Liverpool sat in 5th place, just five below Man United; whilst Brighton sat in 11th, just 5 above Bristol, who sit in the danger zone of relegation.
Liverpool kick it off and within the first 60 seconds of the game, take a corner which finds itself in the safe hands of Brighton’s number 32, Sophie Baggaley. The Reds are dominant in possession early on in the game, earning another corner only minutes on, but to no luck, as it fell wide of the goal.
Hitting the 10-minute mark in the game, Brighton created their first real chance against Liverpool, but nothing came of it. They see another missed chance in quick succession from Robbinson, but their run of possession doesn’t last long as Liverpool are quick to go back to look threatening in front of goal. Melissa Lawley makes a dangerous cross into the box, but Sophie Haug slightly mistimes it, and the ball fails to find the back of the net.
Brighton had a moment of promise from a corner, but Rachel Laws caught it with no worry. Poppy Pattinson and Emma Koivisto are checked for injuries – which concerningly looked like a possible head injury for Brighton’s Pattinson. However, the game resumes and the players rejoin shortly after. A scramble in the penalty area made it look like a possible chance for Liverpool to break the deadlock, but nothing came to fruition as Baggaley once again saved the shot.
Just before halftime, Emma Koivisto made yet another cross into the box but just couldn’t find the back of the net. Liverpool’s best-set piece opportunity was shown approaching halftime, finding Haug but just missing the back of the net, once again. 2 minutes of extra time was announced.
Making a beautiful run up the pitch for Brighton, Pattinson is left disappointed after hitting the crossbar. With frustration growing in the stadium, both teams found themselves goalless at halftime.
Early on in the 2nd half, Liverpool made a dangerous shot, only for it to be saved by Baggaley. Liverpool took a corner, defended well by Brighton. However, the Reds kept up the pressure and not soon after, Liverpool’s number 18, Ceri Holland, found the back of the net, making it 1-0 in the 53rd minute.
A foul on Katie Robbinson leads Fisk and Fahey to get a yellow card. A double substitution for Liverpool sees Lawley and Höbinger off with Kiernan and Kearns coming on as replacements. Brighton then subs Sarri off for Bremer. Brighton has a corner, not resulting in anything but Holland down for Liverpool. There was clear anger amongst Brighton fans and players about the amount of injury time being accumulated by Liverpool.
Brighton created a hopeful looking chance in the box, but Pattinson’s pass was met by Liverpool shirts instead. A Liverpool foul, leading to a yellow card for Holland, gave Brighton another free kick, and although Terland was close with a header, they continued to struggle to find the back of the net, as a result of Liverpool’s physical defending.
Another double Liverpool substitution this time Fahey and Matthews come off for Clark and Daniels. What looked like a mis-slip in the box by Robinson cost Brighton another goal. Brighton manager Mikey Harris also made a double substitution, this time taking off Pinto and Robinson for Geum-Min and Haley. Another sub for Liverpool as Nagano comes off for Lundgaard.
Brighton had another devastatingly close chance, 2 corners in quick succession, only narrowly missing the goal. It’s fair to say that this game has been frustrating for Brighton, failing to capitalize on chances in the game.
An additional 6 minutes of added time was announced. Picking up a second yellow, resulting in a red card for Ceri Holland results in a massive chance for Brighton, taken by Pattinson but delivered straight into the safe hands of Laws.
At the full-time whistle, it was 1-0 to Liverpool. Small margins of error cost Brighton those crucial 3 points, seeing Liverpool push further up the table. Although the scoreline was small for this match, it was clear that Liverpool were the better side today, dominating possession and securing their victory over Brighton.
Brighton: (4-5-1) Baggaley (GK), Thorisdottir, Pattinson, Bergsvand, Losada, Sarri, Zigiotti, Terland, Kullberg, Pinto, Robinson.
Substitutes: Bremer, Lee, Haley, Mengwen, Loeck, Johnson, Startup, Mcewen, Dent
Liverpool: (3-5-2) Laws (GK), Koivisto, Fisk, Fahey, Bonner, Matthews, Nagano, Holland, Höbinger, Lawley, Roman H.
Substitutes: Micah, Clark, Daniels, Kearns, Lundgaard, Kiernan, Van De Sanden, Enderby
Referee: Amy Fearn
Attendance: 2,959
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