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Brighton & Hove Albion Women face Leicester City Women in the League Cup the Peoples Pension Stadium |
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The Seagulls host the Foxes in the scavengers derby on a very windy afternoon in Crawley. It’s so windy that the East Stand has been closed for safety reasons i.e. it’s made of scaffold and might blow away. As a consequence, it’s very cosy, all huddled in the West Stand. The singing section has moved in with us but the drum (officially it’s tambourine) has been banned due to the proximity of the commentators. The Seagulls are without Fran and Dotti, presumed injured. Melina Loeck is behind the back four of Rachel, Maisie, Guru and Poppy. Vicky and Marisa are in the middle. Up front is some combination of Maddie, Michelle, Kiko and Bruna. Pauline is back from injury and on the bench. The struggling Foxes have young Lioness and all-round thug Ruby Mace in midfield. It’s the tournament formerly known as the Conti Cup so if it ‘s level at 90 minutes, the points are shared and it goes straight to penalties for the extra point. The Seagulls have already qualified so are playing for the pride of finishing top of the group.
The first half is uneventful. The most dramatic thing on the pitch is the corner flag threatening to snap in the wing. The football swings between dull and very dull. That and the lack of a pizza van, it’s not going well. There is relief from the tedium as the ref blows the whistle for half time.
The second half starts as the first ended with little action. No shots, no corners. The subs start on 63 as Nikita replaces Maddie and Jelena comes on for Bruna. There is a little urgency at last. Nikita tries an overhead flick but she can’t make it count. The ref has been busy booking the Foxes. She gets booked herself when the yellow card falls out of her pocket and the player handing it back to her can’t resist a little revenge. Vicky is replaced on 72 by Jorelyn who drops into the defence displacing Maisie to mid-field where she belongs. It’s still goalless and thrilless at full time. Penalties coming up. Might get to see a shot on goal now.
The Albion are to take the first one. It’s Nikita and she scores ✅ 1-0. Thiduad up next and she scores ✅ 1-1. Cancavic scores for the Albion ✅ 2-1. Ruby Mace makes no mistake ✅ 2-2. Keiko’s turn ✅ 3-2. Momki misses ❌ 3-2. Michelle hits it wide ❌ 3-2. Cayman levels it ✅ 3-3. Maisie’s penalty is saved ❌ 3-3. It’s sudden death now and Deanne Rose scores ✅ and win the shootout. 3-4. Atleast is over and we can go home.
Well that was dull until the shootout. Nikita and Jelena injected a bit of urgency but it wasn’t enough. To be fair, there wasn’t much at stake as both teams expect to qualify for the knockout stages anyway. Brighton struggled to rekindle their form from the start of the season. We have one group game left and that’s Bristol City at home. We’ve got Chelsea away before that. The Seagulls need to shake things up and put in a performance in that game. Gutted for Michelle and Maisey who will feel guilty about letting the team down but anyone brave enough to step up to take one gets credit for that alone and the result is, what it is. A day to forget all round.
POTM: Goes to Maisie for playing out of position as a centre half and keeping a clean sheet. And having the guts, as a young player to step up and take a penalty.
The ref was probably bored like the rest of us. Her getting booked with her own yellow card was probably the highlight of the whole game.
The Scran’O’meter managed to eventually overcome the disppointment of there being no pizza van. Consolation was a Cauliflower Pie 7/10 and a Latte 7/10.
See you soon.
Love Tranmerekat 🐾
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| Warming up at the Broadfield |
