‘Disappointed but proud’: Harris reflects as Brighton Women suffer Amex defeat to Everton

It was the away side who opened the scoring in 60th minute of the match through substitute midfielder Karen Holmgaard, as a cross to the back of the 18 yard box from none other than the goalscorer’s sister, was met by her sibling and nodded past Albion goalkeeper Sophie Baggaley.

The Seagulls wasted no time in producing a response just three minutes later, as Tatiana Pinto was the first to react to Maisie Symond’s freekick shot which had ricocheted off the underside of the crossbar. An eruption of cheers and chants from the majority of the 4,987 fans inside the Amex ensued as they celebrated the equaliser.

The Toffees regained their lead once again though, following a mix up from Albion backline. A long ball hit deep into the 18 yard box from Everton’s Justine Vanhaevermaet had forced Jorelyn Carabali into playing the ball back to her goalkeeper first time. Her pass lacked the pace necessary to reach Baggaley however, and was intercepted by the eager Aurora Galli.

The midfielder rounded Baggaley and was tripped up by the goalkeeper in the process, leaving Albion Captain Guro Bergsvand to take control of proceedings. However she inadvertently secured the Toffees their goal, as she slid in to clear the danger but in turn kicked the ball into her own net.

Brighton interim coach Harris expressed his thoughts on his side’s loss: “I’m feeling disappointed of course but I’ve also got a lot of pride in the way the players played and the courage that they showed. I think the fans who came tonight have seen that we’ve got some fantastic footballers and on another night the result could’ve been different. We’ll watch the game back and try to be better next time, as always.”

On the mistakes which played a part in Everton’s winning goal: “Sometimes mistakes happen and it’s part of the game. It did swing the momentum and knocks the wind out of your sails a little bit, but we know that errors can happen and I’m really proud of all of the players. Everyone who sets foot on a football pitch is going to make mistakes and give the ball away, it’s just that some mistakes turn out to be more important than others.”

Several flurries from the away side in the early proceedings of the match culminated in the game’s most promising chance. Everton’s winger Hanna Bennison laid the ball off to her fellow teammate Katrina Kuhl who wasted no time in taking on the shot from 20 yard out, with her curling effort forcing Albion’s Baggaley into an impressive fingertip save.

As the half progressed however, it was Brighton who looked to be on the frontfoot, with multiple attacks so nearly finishing with a goal to open the scoring in their favour. An Elisabeth Terland lob and a scramble in the box following a shot from Katja Snoeijs both left the Toffee’s keeper, Courtney Brosnan, in desperate need of getting her side out of trouble, with Brosnan having to scramble herself across her goal in order to keep out Terland’s attempt at goal.

The last chance of the first half was indeed in favour of the Seagulls, as a perfectly weighted ball from midfielder Symonds to Katie Robinson allowed the spritely winger to bear down on goal. As Robinson entered the right side of the 18 yard box, she turned to her trademark step overs to hopefully evade her marker: of which she did, but her cross into the box which followed was a disappointing one as it smashed the right outer side of the netting.

In the opening proceedings of the second half, Brighton’s Symonds laid a pass off to Pinto, who had made a promising run into the 18 yard box. The Portuguese international’s shot was an underwhelming one though, as Pinto’s shot lacked the precision required to find the bottom left corner from close range and instead was fired wide.

Despite Brighton’s chances, it was the away side who opened the scoring through their substitute Holmgaard in the 60th minute. A cross to the back of the 18 yard box from none other than the goalscorer’s sister, was met by her sibling as she peeled away from her marker. Holmgaard rose the highest of the two and nodded the ball into the net before celebrating her opener.

However, it didn’t take long for the Seagulls to respond with a goal of their own- 3 minutes to be exact- as Pinto was the first to react to Symond’s freekick shot which had ricocheted off the underside of the crossbar. Euphoria inside the Amex followed Pinto’s poke past Brosnan as fans, players and manager alike all celebrated the equaliser.

It was only 10 minutes later that the Toffees regained their lead, courtesy of a costly error from Albion defender Carabali. A long ball hit deep into the 18 yard box from Vanhaevermaet had Carabali in a mix up, as she tried to pass the ball back to her goalkeeper first time. Her pass lacked pace and was intercepted by the eager Galli, who then rounded Baggaley and was tripped up by the goalkeeper in the process. Albion Captain Bergsvand, however, inadvertently made sure that the Toffees had their second goal of the evening, as Bergsvand slid in in an attempt to clear the danger, but in turn kicked the ball into her own net.

A terrific volleyed effort from Robinson following a headed lay off from substitute striker Pauline Bremer was one of the Seagulls’ most promising chances to equalise, however the cleanly struck shot was the perfect height for Brosnan to make the standing save. A ball hit up toward the Brighton frontline from Bergsvand in stoppage time looked to have found Robinson, however a questionable shove in the back from Everton substitute and defender Katrina Veje caused Robinson to fall to the floor. Immediate appeals for a penalty ensued from Robinson and Brighton manager Harris, however referee Kirsty Dowle was unmoved and the game was concluded.

Everton manager Brian Sorensen expressed his delight at his side’s crucial win in their bid to evade relegation: “It was an extremely important performance as we haven’t had the best points tally in the league. I think our performances have been consistently good but we’ve struggled to get the wins over the line, so I’m very pleased with the team today.

“I think we controlled the first half and had most of the possession. We started the second half well and scored, but then emotions came into play and they (Brighton) started to throw everything against us and score pretty fast. We regained the lead after that, maybe against the run of play and then there’s a need for fresh legs. For me it was way too open and transitional, maybe it’s fun for the fans but I want my team to be more in control, but in the end we dug deep, saw the game over the line and got the three points which today was very important.”