Brighton v Charlton

The Dolls of the Valley Brighton & Hove Albion v Charlton Athletic AFC Women in the WSL at The Peoples Pension Stadium

Where are we and What's going on?

The Seagulls host the Addicks in their final group game of the WSL Subway Cup. The chances of the Albion qualifying for the knockout stages are almost non-existent since losing to West Ham. It would, however, be good to go out in style tonight. That could be hard harder than it looks though. Charlton are 4 points clear at the top of WSL2 after 8 games. They are in the habit of winning and won’t want to lose any momentum tonight. The Seagulls are playing for pride.

Dario has chosen to use this as the opportunity to rotate his squad and rest some of the senior players. A few of the Under 19s will get a game tonight. The Seagulls also have a 6 pointer against Leicester at the AMEX on Sunday so both resting some legs and building experience through the squad sounds like a good plan.

The team sheets are out. Fran is unavailable due to illness. As expected, Baggers is in goal. It might be a back 4 with Maelys Mpome, Jorelyn Carabali, Marit Auee and Rachel McLauchlen. In the middle are Emily Gay, Fuka Tsenoda and Nadine Noordam. Up front are Rosa Kafaji, Tahirah Heron and Elliana Martin. That’s 3 youngsters getting a start.

Charlton aren’t new to women’s football having played at the highest level as Bromley Borough and later Croydon. It’s going to be an interesting game and anyone expecting a repeat of the Southampton result could be very much mistaken. Hoping for a good performance and not penalties as it’s a school night. It’s a small crowd of 566 all cramped into the West Stand. The Samba band is close by. Let's hope there's plenty to make a noise about. 🎵Let’s go Brighton, let's go!🎵

Off we go..

The first shot comes from the visitors. It’s tame and doesn’t trouble Baggers. Brighton soon start to occupy the Addicks half. They are being well supported by the noise from the ‘Atmosphere’ section. They are being frustrated and unable to create anything positive due to the Addicks harassing and closing down. Rosa receives the ball on the wing. She is tackled and it goes out. The ref flags for a Brighton throw so Rosa takes it. The ref then changes his mind and gives the throw to Charlton. What!

Emily Gay is playing well in the 6. Tahira Heron is getting good space down the right wing and she wins the first Seagulls corner on 14. Looks like Fuka Tsunoda is on corner duty tonight. Nothing comes of it though. Charlton are defending very well. They are sitting in a low block at times and denying any quality passing from Brighton.

They may be sitting back but they know how to break, Our hearts are in our mouths as Marit and McAteer tangle at the edge of the box. Fortunately, the ref doesn’t see anything wrong with it. However, the ball breaks clear and it takes a sliding tackle from Jorelyn to put it behind for a corner. The ball is recycled after the corner and the inbound cross bounces awkwardly, evading everyone in defence including Baggers, to land in the back of the net on 18. Oops. 0-1. Not how we wanted to start. It takes a couple of minutes for the scoreboard to update. It does eventually update. Boo. There is no VAR here to update the score after the fact. Plenty of time to get back at them.

Brighton are able to get the ball in the box, via Heron and the right wing but it’s very crowded. And the passing is not quick or accurate enough to break through this well organised defensive line. The Addicks are pressing too. They know that the Seagulls are prone to mistakes at the back when under pressure. A back pass to Baggers is in turn passed to Maelys but it’s too short. The Addicks striker pounces but is tackled and loses the ball.. The attacker continues her run though and flattens Baggers. The move carries on and the ball ends up in the Brighton net before Baggers can get to her feet. It’s thankfully ruled out and a freekick awarded for the foul on Baggers. Phew. Still 0-1.

Just a minute later and it’s fired just over Bagger's crossbar after more dodgy passing at the back. Need to tighten up Brighton. The Seagulls are pressing again but can find any spaces to pass into. Rosa is not getting much help down the left. She tries a shot from range but it’s over both the bar and the stand roof.

A poor backpass from Jorelyn is closer to the striker than Baggers but Baggers makes a good save. Phew. Charlton are getting better possession than Brighton at the moment.

Some good play down the Seagulls left at last as Rosa runs onto a through ball on 37. She puts in a good cross but Nadine’s touch lets her down and the keeper collects it. There is more space down the left now but for some reason all the effort is going into trying to play through the middle. Tahira is struggling with the physical battle on the right.

The Addicks are a very aggressive physical side and are winning individual battles all over the pitch. Another cross in, this one from Rachel, is claimed by the keeper who is having a good game. We have a good shout for a penalty as Jorelyn is caught from behind as she runs onto a ball in the box. Ref decision is a corner. Don’t know what he was watching. Jorelyn gets a good header on the corner but it’s just tipped over. The resulting corner is headed straight to the keeper. There is just 1 added minute. It’s 0-1 at the break. The sides are separated by a lucky bounce and some bloke in a yellow shirt.

There are 4, yes 4, changes for the Albion as they re-emerge. Going off are Rosa, Maelys, Nadine and Rachel. Coming on are Maisie 🎵she’s one of our own🎵 Symonds, Carla, Caitlin and Evie Milner. There are now 4 of the under 19s squad on the pitch. Caitlin goes in at centre back and Jorelyn moves across to right back. Evie slots in at left back. The drums 🥁 of the band get us going with Sussex by the sea, Samba 🪇 style.

Tahirah goes down off the ball on 49. It doesn’t look good. She is helped up by the physios to great applause but can’t walk so they call for the stretcher 🚑. She is replaced by Taylor Warren who swaps wings with Elliana Martin.

It’s transitional for a while and Charlton come closest with a cross that skims the top of the bar. Brighton start to gain some control in the game. Jorelyn and Maisie combining well up the right. Jorelyn has a good shot from inside the box but it curls just wide of the far post. From the corner, she gets another chance. It’s an improvised lob from the far post. It’s agonisingly close to the top corner as it skims off the bar. Seagulls are getting closer. 🎵There’s only one Carabali🎵.

It’s all Albion but the Addicks are so solid in defence, blocking passes and more importantly blocking runs inside the box. Caitlin hits the far post and Jorelyn misses an open goal. Taylor Warren is playing well down the left wing. It’s all much more positive. Carabali is on fire. The passing is much more creative now. Caitlin is pushing everyone up the pitch. Maisie and Jorelyn combining well on the right with lots of 1-2s. Maisie finds the best shot so far from outside the box. It needs a great save to tip it over the bar. The corner is too low and comes to nothing. Carla is getting the ball with her back to goal but is so well marked, she can’t turn.

The Addicks are still threatening to break occasionally. A fantastic run from Maisie results in a yellow card for Charlton’s Bradley. The free kick is floated in by Fuka, Caiten Hayes meets it but is denied by another fantastic save by Pederson. So close again. Another chance from Gay forces a good save. It looks like an equaliser might be coming soon with 18 to play. Who knew that Jorelyn was such a good attacking right back.

But, the Seagulls still can’t find a way through the close packed defence. They need to be careful though as Charlton make a fast break. Luckily the shot is into the side netting. Maisie’s cross looks like it’s met by an Addick’s arm but there are no appeals. The ball is now spending plenty of time in the Charlton box. It just never quite bounces right or there is always a defender on hand in the right place. Lots of crosses coming in from Brighton but the defending is great. Caitlin is playing as a 9 now and getting half chances. The Seagulls' best chance for a while comes as a fast break ends with the ball at Carla’s feet at the edge of the box. She drags the shot wide, or is it deflected. Goal kick so the ref thinks not.

The play down the right is good but the crosses are well defended and Carla and Martin can’t eke out a decent chance. There are 7 added minutes. A fantastic chance for Carla as a high cross loops in from Fuka. She gets a head to it but it goes just wide. There are some great crosses going in. Maisie’s rushed shot from the edge of the box is sliced so badly it goes out for a throw. Oops. Dougie Tuck would be proud of that. #sliceitliketuck The pressing hasn’t stopped this half and nor have the drums. 🎵Give me a B🎵. It can still go to penalties if we get a late equaliser. But it doesn’t. Defeat for the Seagulls at the Broadfield. Not what we want on the night but doesn’t really matter as we can’t progress in the cup having lost to West Ham. Home time now.

We think it's all over..

Firstly, we hope that the injury to Tahirah isn’t as bad as it looked and she is back running the wing soon.

It ended up as a good game with more of how we expect the Seagulls to perform. It wasn’t the result we wanted though. The Albion will have been viewed as a big scalp to Charlton. They wanted it, they went for it and they got it. It was a lucky bounce that beat the defence and Baggers. Could they have done better? Maybe, but if you don’t try, you don’t get lucky. The Albions tried lots but got very little luck. They could maybe have had a penalty or even two. Not lucky with the officiating either.

It was good to see so many youngsters getting their chance on the pitch. All of them did well and were improving the more minutes they got. A full 90 minutes in a senior competition will be fantastic for the development of Emily and Elliana. Next up is Leicester at the AMEX on Sunday. Hopefully, the full squad will be available for that. Performances at the AMEX have been slowly improving so we look forward to 3 points incoming. Leicester have struggled to get going this season so fingers crossed. We won’t be there but hope to make the away game to London City at Hayes Lane. Up next are Newhaven then Chelsea. See you then.

The Other Stuff

POTM: goes to Jorelyn for that storming performance down the right wing in the 2nd half.

The officiating was weird. Some very odd calls. Flagging the throw to Brighton then changing your mind after it’s been taken. It was a new one on us and probably everyone else. If it was a foul throw (it wasn’t), why didn’t he indicate that. And flag the earlier Charlton foul throw as such. He was lucky that it was an honest game of football with neither side interested in gaining an advantage with the dark arts. The teams may have rotated due to it being a cup competition but that’s not a reason for the PGMufcOL to do the same.

The Scran’O’meter was in its element with the lovely Margherita pizza 10/10. No latte, chips or doughnuts available today though. Unusually, we went for hot chocolate and it was lovely. 8/10.

Love Tranmerekat 🐾

Cup Football Under the Lights at the Broadfield

Sussex by the sea

Watching from the stand

Brighton v Southampton

Raindrops Kiko Falling On My Head Brighton & Hove Albion Women host Southampton Women at the People's Pension Stadium

Where are we and What's going on?

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…

Off we 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 ends 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!

Brighton v West Ham

Waking for the Hammers to Fall Over Brighton & Hove Albion Women face West Ham Women in the WSL at the Victoria Road

Where are we and What's going on?

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. Come on you Seagulls.

Off we go..

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 it 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 still 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.

We think it's all over

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 ear-bashing. 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.

The Other Stuff

POTM: Goes to Fuka Tsunoda 🏅 who has 2 great feet and a lot of determination. 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 last 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 👍.

Love Tranmerekat 🐾

Clouding over in Dagenham

27 stops later, we're here

Warm up time

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