Brighton & Hove Albion 3-1 West Ham United women’s team
Continental Tyres League Cup, Broadfield Stadium, Wednesday 22 November 2023, 7pm GMT.
West Ham United women’s team were beaten 3-1 by Brighton & Hove Albion on Wednesday evening in their second Continental Tyres League Cup group stage fixture.
The home side opened the scoring just before half time, as a corner kick wasn’t cleared away, allowing Guro Bergsvand to bundle the ball in from close range.
After the break, Vicky Losada scored from the penalty spot after Shannon Cooke had brought down Veatriki Sarri inside the area.
Then, Sarri added a third, again from the spot. Jessie Stapleton was the offender this time, as she took down Tatiana Pinto in the box.
Hawa Cissoko was able to pull a goal back late on, but the Hammers would ultimately fall to defeat at Broadfield Stadium
Rehanne Skinner elected to make six changes for the cup clash in west Sussex, with Megan Walsh, Anouk Denton, Keira Flannery, Princess Ademiluyi and Izzy Atkinson coming into the team, as well as Stapleton, who was making her debut in Claret & Blue.
And her side made a positive start to proceedings, moving the ball well inside the Brighton half as they probed the edge of the penalty area in search of clear-cut opportunities.
It took 22 minutes for the first shot on goal of the game to arise. Neat play by the hosts ended with their captain, Vicky Losada trying to chip Walsh, but the ex-Seagull was more than equal to it.
Then, the Hammers had Walsh to thank again for keeping the score at 0-0. This time, Sarri drove in behind, but the goalkeeper stood firm and was able to palm the shot on the first attempt, claiming as the ball bounced in front of her.
Brighton then broke away on the counter attack from a corner up the opposite end, but Walsh was there again, denying Pinto from close range.
Skinner’s team struggled to create opportunities in the opening 45 minutes, and would ultimately go behind just before half time. An in swinging corner wasn’t cleared away, and Bergsvand was able to get a touch on the ball to give her team the lead just before the whistle sounded.
On 50 minutes, things went from bad to worse for West Ham, as Cooke brought down Sarri in the penalty area after Walsh had failed to clear a backpass away. Losada stepped up and made no mistake with the spot kick.
Losada chipped a ball over the top, and Stapleton was adjudged to have fouled Pinto, giving Sarri the chance to convert from the spot, which she did, sending Walsh the wrong way.
Skinner made changes, with Mel Filis and Jess Ziu entering the field, and the former tried her luck from distance on 70 minute, testing Evrard from range.
Riko Ueki was also introduced, and her driving runs forward caused issues late on for the home defence, as did Lisa Evans, but they couldn't fashion clear-cut opportunities.
There was time for Hawa Cissoko to find the back of the net late on after a scramble in the Brighton penalty area, but it was too little, too late for those in Claret & Blue, as they fell to defeat in west Sussex.
Brighton & Hove Albion: Evrard, Thorisdottir, Pattinson, Bergsvand (McEwen 86), Losada © (Zigiotti 62), Sarri (Terland 62), Lee (Haley 62), Kullbery, Pinto, Symonds (Robinson 75), Rule.
Unused Subs: Startup, Bremer, Li Mengwen, Pegram.
Goals: Bergsvand 45, Losada 52, Sarri 61
Yellow Cards: Thorisdottir 28, Pattinson 64
West Ham United: Walsh, Shimizu©, Stapleton (Ziu 66), Cooke, Tysiak (Cissoko 46), Denton, Stringer, Flannery (Filis 66), Atkinson, Asseyi (Evans 46), Ademiluyi (Ueki 74)
Unused Subs: Arnold, Smith, Harries,
Goal: Cissoko 89
Yellow Cards: Stapleton 23, Atkinson 26, Asseyi 28, Stringer 44, Cooke 51
Attendance: 845
Referee: Amy Fearn