Raindrops Kiko Falling On My Head

Brighton & Hove Albion Women host Southampton Women at the People's Pension Stadium

The Seagulls are back in Crawley to host Southampton Women in the Subway Cup. It’s group game 3 of 5 and we have won one and lost one. The Saints are going well in WSL2 but the Albion are still big favorites. We all know that it doesn't work that way in one-off games though. It’s a very wet afternoon in West Sussex with steady rain expected for most of the day/ Being a cup game, Dario has rung the changes again. It’s Baggers 🧤 in goal with Marit and Jorelyn in front of her. Marisa is left back and Rachel as right back or wing back. It’s hard to tell. In the middle are Nadine and Fuka. It’s a first choice attacking line up of Fran, 10, Michelle, 9, Rosa on the left and Carla on the right. Going for it today. We are all cramped into the West stand, meaning that the ‘Atmosphere’ section have been imposed on the Grumpy Old Farts section. They arrive, complete with the Samba Band. There may be drums 🥁, lot of drums 🥁🪘. Sussex by the Sea has never been so loud, or so Latin 🪇. Lets hope the team hit the ground running. Let’s go Brighton, let’s go…

The Seagulls start with good energy and get a couple of early chances. Carabali is in the middle of it and blasts from range. It settles down into the usual possession based game where the defence are very busy backwards and forward or side to side. Passes forward are too hopeful and mostly intercepted. Rosa is looking confident in the box though. Another chance from a corner goes to Marit. The Saints fans are making a good noise as they get a corner but the rowdy Seagulls support soon drowns them out. It’s still raining steadily but it doesn’t dampen the Samba vibe.. Rosa gets the ball past the right back but she is blocked and held to stop her getting to the ball. The ref blows and giving it to the defender. Very odd decision. The two well organised defensive lines of the are stopping the Seagulls playing through them. Poor passing is letting them down too. Michelle tangles with one of the Saints on 20 and there are team talks as the injured Saint receives treatment. The Seagulls and the ref are ready to restart but there are no Saints as they are all still chatting. The ref looks cross. The first good chance comes on 24 as a great cross by Carla is put just wide by a stretching Rosa. A minute later and Michelle uses her strength to beat the defence but her shot hits the post. The Seagulls are playing too slow in transition, letting the Saints settle back into their shape. The Saints would love to take the lead and a mistake by Jorelyn gives then a corner on 45+2. They get no joy and the half end 0-0 on 45+4. The Saints will be the happier of the 2 teams. The Seagulls need both more energy and precision. Important team talk for Dario and Captain Fran now.

There are no changes for the 2nd half. The Seagulls start with a bit more energy. The ball is put into the box by Fran but it hits Carla on the back and everyone chooses to pass instead of shooting. The chance to shoot eventually comes to a centre back, it’s Marit, and she puts it well over. Albion are pressuring higher up the pitch now. Michelle tries to roll a defender, who, knowing she is beaten, just throws herself to the floor earning a free kick. The rain is persisting or it’s pissing down again now. The war drums are going, trying to drive the Seagulls on. Some good passing in the box ends with Marisa at the edge of the box. It takes a good save from the keeper to tip it over the bar. Getting closer. A Southampton corner leads to their best chance. It’s a great ball in but the striker can’t get any contact on it. The Saints are keeping the ball better and putting the Albion under pressure for a few minutes. A third corner comes closer but she can’t get enough on it. There are some changes on the hour mark. It’s Carla and Rosa making way for Kiko and Moeka. It looks like a back 3 with Marisa moving up to wing back. Rachel seems to have moved into the midfield 3. A long ball from Marit in defence finds Kiko on the wing. She passes to Michelle, Rachel back heels it and Kiko fires into the top corner from close range on 68 ⚽. 1-0, deadlock broken at last. Hope that sorts out the nerves and we can kick on from here and finish it off 🙏. The Samba band 🥁 is having a very good stab at “Kiko’s on fire”. The Saints get a chance but it’s from miles out and easy for Baggers to collect. Jorelyn hits a long ball over the top to the running Fran. She has a lot to do but chips the keeper from close in on 70 ⚽. 2-0. Getting there. Super Fran. The drums are really going now. Albion have stepped up the tempo now. Fran goes down in the box but play continues. Rachel kicks the ball out so Fran can get treatment. The Saints re-start with a throw-in but instead of giving the ball back, they start to play👀. There is another incident with Michelle. As she is running forward off the ball, the defender runs across the back of her taking them both down. It’s surely a free-kick to Brighton but it’s not. The crowd are not happy, and nor are Michelle and Captain Fran. She really doesn’t know what she is doing and the polite feedback that we provide helps let her know that she has got it completely wrong. As if she can’t tell from the players reactions. There are two more changes on 81. Going off are Marisa and Rachel. Coming on are U19 striker Elliana Martin and Caitlin Hayes. Some fresh legs up front and shoring up the defence for the last 10 minutes. Marit moves across to her usual right back position and Caitlin goes in the middle with Jorelyn. Elianna is straight into the action after a Saints defensive mistake lets her onto a great long ball from Jorelyn. It’s a difficult chance but needs a good save from Stanson. The resulting corner is headed just wide by Caitlin. Subs having a good impact. It’s just the final ball that is eluding the Seagulls. It’s good to see Elianna making a nuisance of herself on the left. Fuka, who, is scrapping for every ball, gets deliberately pushed over off the ball but the officials are nowhere to be seen. Baggers gets a song from the band. She’s had a quiet game but she’s not forgotten. Fran makes way for U19 defender Emily Gay on 87. Big cheers for Super Fran. It’s Captain Carabali now. Minami seems to be loving a bit of advanced full back play on the left. She combines well with Elliana who gets a deep cross in. It’s saved but spilled and Kiko doesn't need to be asked twice to poke it home on 90+2 ⚽. 3-0 and a brace for Kiko. Brighton keep pressing but the whistle goes before they can take a corner.

Well, that may have been a bit tedious at times. We had the ball most of the time but did very little of any note for much of the game. The Saints defence was well organised and trying to play through the non-existent gaps in their 2 close lines of 4 like we are Barcelona was a bit of a stretch. Especially when the pace was so pedestrian. There were chances but the performance was largely unconvincing before the changes. The subs bought energy and different options. Kiko did seem to be standing in huge amounts of space a lot of the time but she was where she needed to be when it mattered ⚽⚽. Her running destroyed the tired defence and gave us something to cheer about. Can’t wait to see more of Elliana. It may have been Dario’s plan all along to play with the ball and keep a clean sheet early on then go in for the kill at the end. Very Serena like but it worked whether that was how it was intended or not. It’s a good way to win a game, just not great for the spectators and their nerves. The Saints fans seemed to enjoy themselves. Singing "When the Saints”, predictable, “Auld Lang Syne”, weird, and “Is this a library?”, inaccurate. The Samba Band certainly upped the noise level. “Kiko’s on fire was the best. It was improving with every goal she scored. Let’s hope it continues to improve at pace. The formation was a bit confusing at times again with Rachel in at right back, wing back and centre mid all at the same time. It was good to see Jorelyn play as she has been on the margins this season. She had a fairly consistent game and those long balls are amazing ❤. Not seen her partnered with Marit before but they did ok. Nadine and Fuka worked hard in the middle. A good alternative pairing to Jelena and Maisie when needed. The result was good and looked comfortable in the end. It was unconvincing early on and the Saints must have been hoping for penalties as they didn’t really get a chance. We’ll put it down to the poor weather. Anyway, it’s done now and we move into the international break. We’ll be back in a couple of weeks.

POTM: Not hard today as there were few stand out performances. Kiko completely changed the game when she came on. Well done and thank you 🏅.

The ref was ok most of the time but made a couple of howlers for fouls on Michelle who she seemed to take against. Makes you wonder if the refs are making mistakes to try and get VAR into the WSL so they don’t have to make the big and difficult decisions any more. Just a thought. The lino in front of us was good and actually flagged for fouls like a proper assistant ref. It was refreshing to see. Well done.

The Scran’O’meter loves to be back at the home of yummy pizza. Today, it is a Margarita 🍕, 9/10 and chips 🍟 10/10. The Lattes ☕ 7/10 and doughnuts 🍩 8/10 were great too.

See you soon

Love Tranmerekat 🐾

A bit wet here

Supporting CopaFeel!

DvD killed the Dario Stars

Brighton & Hove Albion Women face Arsenal Women in the WSL at the Emirates Stadium

The Seagulls are in North London to play the Gunners. Last time we were here, we got a bit battered.  Since then, we have beaten them at Crawley.  That was just before they beat Barcelona in Lisbon to be crowned Champions of Europe again. They are on a poor run of form at the moment so we catch them at a good time. They lost to Lyon in the week and haven’t won since the opening day of the WSL.  The Albion are sporting their new away kit which is a light purple/mauve. It looks nicer when you see it on the pitch than it does in the shop. Our 2 Arsenal loanees, Michelle and Rosa, are not eligible for the squad today. Starting up front are Carla in the 9 and Fran in the 10. WIde of them are Kiko on the right and Rachel on the left. Behind them are Captain Maisie and Jelena. The defence comprises Caitlin and Charlize in the middle with Marissa and Maelys as full backs. That looks like a conventional back 4. The Gunners lineup is formidable with Russo, Smith, Manuum and Foord up front. Leah is still injured after the Euros so Katie Reid is in the central defence with Catley. The bench is even more frightening 😱. We're hoping the sun is going to come out at some point to shine on the 369 of us in the away end. It took 2 coaches to get us all here.  One for the ‘Atmosphere’ section and the other for the ‘Grumpy Old Farts’ section. There is some dodgy 70’s/80’s football songs then North London Forever. The Albions take the knee and we’re off. Let’s go Brighton, let’s go.

The teams are feeling each other out for the first minutes. Both making mistakes in possession. First chance goes to Olivia Smith from a cleverly worked corner but with Kiko closing, she blasts it just over. They come even closer as Chiamaka has to scoop a Katie McCabe cross out from under the crossbar. It’s recycled and she saves again from Foord. Brighton attack for a spell but can’t get a chance. Russo plays in Smith but she buries it deep into the side netting. Brighton lose it in the middle of the pitch. Arsenal break and Smith's early cross is accidentally deflected by Marissa past, a wrong footed, Chiamaka into the net. Arse. 1-0. The Gunners are owning the left wing and Mpome is often outnumbered 2 or 3 to 1. She is playing really well but needs more support. Arsenal are dominating but are too pedestrian to threaten the Albion defence too much. Some great build up by Maisie and Kiko gives Fran a great chance from the corner of the 6 yard box. She tries to chip DvD who makes an easy catch. It would have been nice to see her smash that. Some patient build up on the left and Jelena lobs a cross into the box. Kiko tries to bundle it in but collides with DvD and McCabe. Brighton are getting good possession at times but Arsenal are a little better on the ball. Foord beats Mpome to get in a good cross but there is no-one at the far post. Super Fran is having great game. Come on Fran, give us a goal. Brighton defending well from the front. It’s working as Arsenal have not had much of a chance since the lucky goal. Which wasn’t a chance at all. The outnumbered Seagulls are making more noise than the Gooners. Fran plays in Kiko but DvD makes a good save at the near post. It leads to a corner which goes just over DvD and threatens to go in but is cleared. Kiko picks up a ball in the midfield and runs at goal. She has Rachel to her left but chooses the long shot. DvD makes a good save, spills the ball and recovers it. It’s the last kick of the half. Fairly even apart from the small matter of the goal.

Brighton need to start with calm heads to not let Arsenal build any momentum. They get a flurry of corners but the Seagulls are defending very well. It’s time for an Albion corner but it goes straight into the side netting!! What a waste. Arsenal have the ball but it’s moving without energy. It’s McCabe that finally gets a shot on target but it’s an easy catch for Nnadozie. Fran plays a great pass down the wing for Kiko, she dummies it and McCabe flattens her without getting near the ball. Then claims Kiko dived. Well you would know about that! Carla forces a good save from DvD after a throw in. A Katie McCabe corner forces a great save from Nnadozie and a great goal line block from Maelys. Brighton’s high press leads to a great cross from Kiko, it finds Carla and DvD is forced into a great save to keep it out of the net. Russo is played through, Nnadozie comes flying out of her box to smash it into touch and flatten Alessia at the same time. It looks a clear foul on Russo but fortunately it's ignored by the ref.  The play is right in front of us as Foord cross hits Maelys in the face at close range on 62. She drops like a stone and looks to be unconscious initially. An increasing number of medical staff come onto the pitch to help her out. Arsenal use the stoppage to make their changes. It's Frida, Olivia and Mariona going off. On come Beffy, Stina and Kira. There are a huge number of medical staff on the pitch still and Maelys is stretched off 10 minutes after the incident to great applause round the ground. Marit Auee comes on in her place. Arsenal have impatiently waited 10 minutes to take their corner but it comes to nothing. It’s a bit end to end for a while without any chances. Maisie is injured and is replaced by Nadine. Arsenal get another corner as Stina is causing problems for the backline. It’s a curly one from McCabe and Stina glances it off the top of the bar. Phew! The Gunners get a free kick on 85 as Jelena is penalised for having Beffy Mead run into her following Nnadozie’s headed clearance. Our new keeper seems to be a little bit adventurous. Stina misses the resulting chance again. Kiko charges past McCabe only to get tripped by Beffy. DvD gets a hand on the free kick and the second phase shot goes wide. It is only the 2nd offside as Mead is caught out on 88. Caitlin Foord is replaced by Chloe Kelly and the Euros hero comes on the big cheers. The Brighton backline holds strong and forces Russo to shoot wide. There are to be 13 added minutes 😲. Certainly enough time to equalize. Kiko and Beth are still not getting on. An Arsenal corner is quickly cleared. Kelly gets a chance but it’s a cross and ends up with Nnadozie. Brighton have a good spell of possession that ends in a Kiko cross that's claimed by DvD. It’s Arsenal’s turn for a good spell with the ball. Stina gets a chance as she runs onto a through ball from Little. How she misses the goal we will never know but she somehow drags it wide. Kiko is replaced by Tahira Heron. Arsenal keep the ball but the Brighton defence holds firm. Chloe Kelly gets the first booking on 90+12 for a body check on Charlize. DvD punches the free kick clear then lands on Caitlin who takes a while to get up. There is just time for one last heart attack moment. Little sets Stina away, Nnadozie comes miles out of her box and then misses Stina and the ball. The defence somehow manage to mop up the resulting mess. Arsenal take the resulting corner very short to run the clock down and the whistle goes on 90+13. A tight game and an unlucky loss for the Seagulls who can be both pleased with the performance and disappointed with the result.

Firstly, the news that Maelys is OK. She has a concussion but is up and about. That was a really even game despite the Seagulls losing it. The difference was a lucky deflected goal and the visitors had more good chances on goal. Arsenal wouldn’t have had much to moan about had they drawn or lost it. It says a lot when you play the Champions of Europe and their goal keeper is POTM. The Seagulls should be very proud of their performance. So different to this fixture last season. We have as good as we got if not better today. The Albion were certainly the better side for the last 20 when we least expected it as the Gunners game changers had come on. And they had a full squad to pick from (Leah excepted and she is a huge miss) where the Albion were short of 2 of their key strikers as they are not allowed to play their parent club. The sun coming through the gap in the Clock End was a lovely way to end the day. We were probably happier to see the 13 minutes added than our hosts as we never felt that we couldn’t get back into it. It was worrying to see Bex on crutches at the end but she was on the pitch with the squad so it can’t be that bad.

POTM: Goes to Super Fran for being involved in everything good that happened. A special mention to Nnadozie whose great keeping kept the game in reach even if it was a little unconventional at times.

The officials, well Kirsty, were as you would expect when playing the Champions of Europe. They were not quite untouchable but always got the benefit of the doubt.

The Scran’O’meter loved the Felafel wrap from WonderDoner 8/10. We didn’t try to take any drinks in. Bottles of water were sold with lids intact. But soft drinks were sold in re-usable cups. Doughnuts were yummy as well as the Gunners Gummy sweets. We heard a rumour about pick’n’mix but couldn’t track any down.

Love Tranmerekat 🐾

In early at the Emirates

Filled up now

Sally's first visit

Waking for the Hammers to Fall

Brighton & Hove Albion Women face West Ham Women in the WSL at the Victoria Road

The Seagulls are away to the Hammers on an Autumn night in Dagenham. Brighton have 2 wins in the bank so far but are smarting after losing away to Spurs on Saturday. They are 6th in the table having beaten tonight's opponents who sit bottom on zero, nought, nada, nil points. Both teams are on 3 points in the cup with the Hammers leading on goal difference. With the 3 Championship , sorry, WSL 2 clubs in the group, it’s likely that one of tonight's teams will top the group. So this is the decider. Winner takes it all. We would like to thank our hosts for being a lot more accommodating tonight and letting us sit down. Back in February they made us stand on the open terrace behind the goal. Their plan to freeze us that time failed because we enjoyed a lovely bit of late winter sunshine. There was no fan coach today so it was just the 24 stops on the District Line from Victoria to Dagenham East. The club house is open to away fans but is hosting a wake. Whether it is for a Daggers fan or West Ham's league form, we didn’t want to ask. There is a really changed line up for tonight. Big cheers for Baggers in goal. Love her. The defence is a lopsided back 3 /12. Caitlin is in the middle with Captain Carabali on the right and the right footed Mpome on the left. A bit further up on the left is Rachel McLauchlan playing as a wing back instead of a full back. Pep would be pleased to see the odd formation. In the middle is Bex Rayner and Fuka Tsunoda. Carla Camacho is in the 9 with Michelle on the left and Tahira Heron on the right. Some new faces for us to watch then. Ex Seagull Megan Walsh is in the Hammers goal. She is good. Lets hope she has a bad night. Vivian Asseyi is on fire this season but fortunately on the bench tonight. Shekira Martinez who was on fire after arriving in January has had a slow start to this season. Long may that continue. Riko Ueki can also be good but is also on the bench. The teams are warmed up. There is surprised applause as the players take the knee. Off we go. Come on you Seagulls.

The Seagulls are on the front foot and get the first shot. It’s tame from Michelle from outside the box and an easy stop for Megan. They are getting closer as Tahira Heron’s cross is tipped over the bar. After 5 minutes in the opposite half, Baggers gets to touch the ball after a dodgy back pass from Caitlin. The ball is back up the pitch and the visitors are dominating again. Jorelyn will be pleased to see Carla has borrowed her Judo manual with a well performed tackle/throw of a hammers defender. Seagulls fans are making a lot of noise in our little bit of the stand. Brighton have West Ham penned into the final third and are being patient. Another Heron cross but it’s way too long. Rosa gets space at the edge of the box but her shot hits the post. It rebounds to Carla. Her shot is almost straight at Megan who can’t control it and it’s in the net on 16 ⚽. 1-0. Need to make this dominance count for something. A long Hammer pass is controlled by Maelys who gets steam rollered 🚜 by Wandeler who gets booked. The hammers first chance comes on 18, it’s rushed and the shot is wide. The first Seagull in the book is Bex Rayner who challenges the midfield runner but goes down first. The runner is clear of Bex when she decides to fall over to get a foul. The Hammer’s first corner is on 21. They recycle if but it comes to nothing. Michelle breaks and is brought down at pace but no yellow for the challenge. Brighton are soon back in control. Come on Brighton echos round the ground. Hold the front page. It’s nearly half an hour into the game and the home fans have finally made their presence known with a horn and some half hearted chanting. It’s scrappy in the final third as the Seagulls are pressing high. Michelle cuts in and curls one from outside the box and it goes just wide. The Hammers make a mess of the goal kick but Rosa’s shot is straight at Megan who keeps hold of it this time. Martinez breaks and is clear but just goes a bit too wide and runs out of pitch. The corner is punched by Baggers but the spinning ball is cut back and prodded into the net on 27. 1-1. Boo. To us ,it looked like the ball was out before it was cut back in but the lino would have had a difficult job because the line is a bit wonky. Need to get back on it and into the lead again. A fantastic Brighton move down the other end, Jorelyn picks out Tahira wide in space. Carla runs onto the through ball. The cross is great but Michelle can’t get a meaningful contact. West Ham are much more positive now and a good break sees them shoot just over. It’s starting to get a bit end to end. And getting a bit scrappy as Bex is pulled back in the centre circle leading to another Hammers yellow. Hammer are on the front foot and get another corner. Their fans have woken up briefly. The corner is cleared fortunately. In a fantastic move, Michelle pinches the ball at the half way line, runs to the by-line and cuts back for Carla who hits it just wide. A much more open game now. Bex Rayner is down in the middle and getting treatment. She hobbles off and is replaced by Nadine. “There’s only one Bex Rayner”. Brighton are being pressed back now. The Seagulls fans trying to drive them forward. Love a marauding centre back and Maely charges up the pitch and tests Megan from range. It’s on target and needs to be saved. A third Hammers yellow on 44. A free kick then a corner leads to a West Ham break and Tahira does very well to put it behind, The corner looks wasted but as they head back towards the Seagulls goal, it looks like Baggers fouls the striker who gets to the ball first. The ref is saved from the decision by it being off-side. Baggers will be a little relieved too. As are we. Into the last of 4 added minutes and Brighton are pressing again. It’s even at the break and anybody’s game in the 2nd half.

The Seagulls are kicking off and kicking towards us. They are on the charge in the first minute as Tahira plays in Michelle but she is out wide and can’t quite find the target. It’s scrappy again but the Seagulls fans are making some noise. “Give me a B”. Brighton break through via Tahira. Jorelyn joins in. Fuka puts a great looping cross into Michelle but the defender just gets her head to it first. The corner goes straight out. Rachel is playing a good game in the middle, trying to move the ball from back to front. She gets a great chance as she runs with the ball, a quick 1-2 with Michelle and her shot into the top corner is within reach of Megan. Brighton fans are getting behind the team with a lot of noise. We’re skill pressing. West Ham miss an open goal on the break after a mistake from Jorelyn. Well clear and with only Baggers to beat but it's straight at her. Time for some changes on 63 and Fran replaces Carla and Charlize for Maelys. Both like for like. And Rachel is replaced by Marisa so a change around there. We’ll see who goes where. Some West Ham subs come on including Asseyi and Ueki. That’s not good. Fran starting to cause issues down the right. “Let’s go Brighton” . A couple of corners won. And another. All in front of Seagulls fans. It very close as it’s headed back in form the far post but Megan manages to collect the ball in the chaos. It’s all Brighton. Nadine gets the ball on the back of the head, she goes off briefly but is able to come back on. It's been 75 minutes and we finally hear “Come on you Irons”. The wake must be over. It is now. A Hammers throw in, a cut back that Caitlin clears straight into Ueki. It bounces to Martinez who smashes it across Baggers into the net on 78. 2-1. Gutted. Plenty of time to play yet. Tahira, has looked good and is replaced on 78. Hope she can make a difference🙏. Brighton are pressing for the equaliser but it’s looking a bit desperate. A move started by Michelle, finds Fran who plays in Rosa. She crosses the ball in, it almost goes in the top corner but goes just over. Not what she planned but so nearly in. Asseyi is rolling around on the floor after zero contact with Michelle. Megan is also down in the Hammers goal. “Stand up, for the goalkeeper” rings out from the away end after she has recovered with treatment 😶. Asseyi has also recovered and shoots just wide. Chances coming at both ends now. It’s got very desperate. There some are poor decisions being made and Fran is giving some robust feedback to the culprits. Come on Brighton. Need a bit of luck now. Seagulls getting some good crosses in but the defence is holding up well. Into 6 minutes of added time. Seagulls are camped out in the Hammers third. Kiko is getting plenty of the ball on the right. She gets into the box and goes down. It looks like a penalty from the stand but nothing from this ref who is miles away. Into the last minute and Rosa puts it into the top corner only for Megan to somehow get to it to keep it out. Baggers comes up for the resulting corner but it’s headed wide by Caitlin at the far post.. With no irony whatsoever, the last kick of the game is a free kick after Asseyi threw herself to the floor. All over in Dagenham with a disappointing loss. At least it didn’t go to pens and we will get home before midnight. Back to the District line to head home.

The Seagulls again regretting not being clinical early on. They were in control for the first 45 with the opponents relying on hitting on the break. It worked for them too, with a goal from the resulting corner. The Seagulls were so near, so many times, but needed a bigger lead. They played high risk football at the wrong times and needed to make their chances count. The ref didn’t help getting worse as the game went on. For all the moaning, it was a good watch and the Seagulls fans made a good noise cheering the girls on. Barely a peep from the hammers fans. Maybe still in the wake. It was a big improvement over our league visit here in February and at least we got to watch the defeat sitting down in comfort. We are still 2nd in the group and expect it to finish like that now. Coming up on Sunday, we have an away trip to the Emirates, and the luxury of going on the fans coach. Hopefully, the team will have saved some energy to put into that. After Fran has given them all an earbashing. She was very grumpy at the end, especially with the younger players, presumably not meeting the required standards. How ironic is it that we watch Tranmere three times, all away from home, and yet the first defeat we watch all season is Brighton against a team they beat 4-1 at home on the opening day. That’s football for you.

POTM: Goes to Fuka Tsunoda 🏅 who has 2 great feet and a lot of defermination. Watching her tackling and running with the ball is a pleasure. Great to watch. A really good addition to the team. Congrats.

The officials seemed Ok at the start but got worse. The ref missed a clear penalty for a foul on Kiko in the very lastI minute. Perhaps she was watching via VPN from another time zone and the match had already finished where she was. It was a tight call for the lino for the equaliser as the ball looked out before the cutback but had all of the ball crossed all of the line. It must be hard to tell when the line is so wonky FA Law 17 states: “A corner kick is awarded when the whole of the ball passes over the goal line, on the ground or in the air, having last touched a player of the defending team, and a goal is not scored” It needs to be updated so the officials know what to do when there is a goal squiggle where the goal line should be.

The Scran’O’meter reported that the food looked nice although there were no veggie options. We took a picnic so it didn’t matter. There were no bag searches, bottle or bottle top checks and all bottles were sold with the tops on. Just as it should be. Progress.

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Clouding over in Dagenham

We're here

Warm up time

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