Seeking to move two points behind fourth-placed Manchester United with a win against Brighton, Matt Beard’s Liverpool headed to Crawley on Sunday to take on an in-form Seagulls side that have appeared rejuvenated since Mikey Harris took interim control of the club.
BHA: Baggaley; Pattinson, Thorisdóttir, Bergsvand, Kullberg; Olme, Losada; Sarri, Pinto, Robinson; Terland
LIV: Laws; Fisk, Fahey, Bonner; Matthews, Holland, Nagano, Höbinger, Koivisto; Lawley, Haug
Matt Beard had complimented Brighton’s rapid development under Mikey Harris in his pre-match press conference, citing their newfound defensive structure. Those improvements were on full display on Sunday, with Liverpool struggling to create chances despite dominating the match.
Sophie Román Haug came close to opening the scoring early on as she blasted her headed effort wide from a corner, before narrowly missing out on slamming home a Melissa Lawley cross.
Lawley would arguably be Liverpool’s brightest spark throughout much of the match, but the visitors would be dealt a stark wake-up call on the brink of half-time as Poppy Pattinson rattled the crossbar from a tight angle.
It would take less than ten minutes of the second half for Matt Beard’s side to seize the lead though, as a poor pass from goalkeeper Sophie Baggaley allowed Ceri Holland to fire home the opening goal in the 53rd minute.
Embed from Getty ImagesShe would be dismissed in stoppage time though, with a late challenge on Brighton’s Julia Zigiotti coming as her second booking of the match – meaning she’ll miss the Reds’ next Barclays Women’s Super League outing against Aston Villa in two weeks’ time.
As for Brighton, they travel to Ashton Gate next time out to face a struggling Bristol City side that desperately need to pick up points to avoid their impending relegation.
