Share and Follow
Key events
Manchester United are three points clear at the top of the table as things stand, can they see this out? Second half incoming!
Our weekly women’s football newsletter is free to subscribe to! If you haven’t already sign up for more content:
Here’s the goal from Galton:
Half-time: Brighton 0-1 Manchester United
It has been a solid start from the WSL leaders with a strong Galton header putting them ahead. Brighton have had some chances but they are yet to convert them. Everything still to play for.
45 + 1 min: Brighton come again and Sarri tries to cross it in but Batlle challenges her well and it goes out for a goal kick. Brightin get it back quickly, Lee passes into the box but Pattinson’s chance is wide. There will be one minute added.
44 min: Le Tissier attempts a long range pass but it has too much on it for Toone to collect. Brighton look to strike but again they are offside in their build-up, supporters are starting to show their frustration.
42 min: Zelem punts it in and Turner gets to it but she can’t control and it is out for a goal kick. Galton then does well to prevent a Brighton counter, the hosts aren’t out of this clash yet!
41 min: Bance does well to win it back from a foul by Zelem. The United captain seems frustrated by the decision but Brighton get to relieve pressure. Zigiotti pulls Ladd and she gives away a free kick, Zigiotti gets a yellow card. Zelem will take this free kick, a scorable position.
39 min: Zelem blasts it in, Boe Risa gets a touch but Williams collects! The crowd seemed to hold their breath there, so close to a second! United get in a great position once more, Russo crosses in but Boe Risa can’t control it.
37 min: Brighton do well to clear pressure but then a sloppy pass gives it straight back to United. It’s those frustrating moments preventing Brighton from throwing a punch. Ladd wins a free kick after a foul from Bance, it is in a good position and Brighton will again need good defensive work.
35 min: Ladd attempts a pass to Galton but it has too much on it. Brighton’s Morse does well to clear a chance from the box, the Seagulls are doing well to thwart chances since conceding the opener.
33 min: Lee is furious as she feels she should have the throw in but it has gone United’s way! Russo clips Zigiotti and the Brighton player remains down but she is quickly back to her feet.
31 min: It is a great cross in from the corner but the resulting header is just over. It was a well worked corner, Robinson ran out to confuse the defence but they just couldn’t convert it. Brighton are coming forward and Sarri crosses it but it skims across Robinson’s feet! So close!
29 min: Zelem takes the kick but Williams comes out and punches it away. United still have it and pass it into the box again but the Brighton keeper collects. Here come Brighton now, Robinson collects a long range pass but Blundell is smothering the ball. Galton then wins it back, great defensive work from United. Ladd concedes a corner but it prevented a cross into the box, a good chance here for Brighton now.
27 min: United are taking the sting out of the game, taking time on the ball. Pattinson fouls Batlle and she has a talking to from the referee. They take the free kick quickly and Sarri fouls Boe Risa, surely the yellow cards will start flowing soon! United have a free kick in a good position here, they could double their lead.
25 min: Bance wins a free kick on a great position! Could this be when they score? Not yet with Boe Risa clearing. Batlle play is out from the back and possession exchanges hands.
23 min: Here come Brighton! Robinson is looking to cross but she is again offside, that is the third time she has been offside so far! United are countering through Russo but Brighton do enough to shut it down.
21 min: Toone tries to unlock the United attack but her pass goes to no one. Brighton have an attacking chance but a pass has too much on it and then Fox gives away a free kick for a foul on Galton. It’s the little moments in this that is keeping the momentum with United so far.
19 min: A ball comes in for Blundell but it had too much on it for her to gather. A great save from Williams to keep Brighton in this! Toone crosses in and Galton gets a touch but the keeper collects.
17 min: Brighton are still a threat here but they just need more clinicism on the ball to create a chance. United playing it from their own half now.
15 min: Galton was in a perfect position for that goal, just out of sight for keeper Williams to sneak that home. Brighton will need to stem the bleeding, they need to be the next to score here. United are with possession again, Brighton can’t fade defensively. Lee intercepts the ball but passes to Robinson who is offside, a great sign form the hosts though
GOAL! Brighton 0-1 Manchester United (Galton, 13′)
Zelem blasts it into the box and Galton heads home!
12 min: Ladd pops a good ball into the box but no United player there to capitalise on the chance. Fox does well to close down Blundell to force a goal kick, she could have conceded a corner there but she made sure Blundell took the last touch. United get it into the box once more, Russo goes down in the box but no penalty given, they have won a corner now though.
10 min: A poor pass from Lee sees United win it just outside the box. Brighton do well to smother any space and United are forced to play it back to halfway. Batlle tries to cross it into the box but Bance blocks. United are still with the ball though and maintaining their pressure.
Read Related Also: Monterey Park shooting: police surround van that may be linked to suspect who killed 10 – latest updates | Los Angeles
8 min: Batlle collects a long range pass and crosses into the box but Williams catches easily. Brighton quickly counter and Sarri gets on the edge of the box, she takes a punt at goal but Earps easily gathers.
6 min: Russo is fed the ball in a great position and she gets it into the box but it’s cleared well. Robinson then wins a free kick from Turner, a huge cheer coming from the crowd! It results in Robinson getting inside the box, Earps collects the cross but Robinson was offside.
4 min: Boe Risa and Toone attempted a one-two but it deflected off a Brighton player and they have a throw in. A loose pass saw Brighton win it back but they quickly pass it into touch. A little sloppy from both teams.
2 min: No punches have been thrown yet with Russo offside as United launched an attack. A slow start/
Kick-off! Brighton 0-0 Manchester United
Here we go then! A huge match for the implications at the top and bottom of the league, three massive points up for grabs.
Players were wearing ‘Football welcomes Refugees’ t-shirts while warming up:
The players will be out shortly, United will be the firm favourites but Brighton will be hunting an upset! How do you see this one shaking out?
Our weekly women’s football newsletter, Moving the Goalposts, is a great read, especially before this match this morning. Anita Asante has written about what it is like to battle in the relegation fight. Have a read of it here:
Tom has got in touch via email and said: “Utd just announced they are putting season ticket prices up by 50% so £60 for an adult for next year. Thoughts on this? Part of me bristles at the percentage increase whilst another part thinks it’s still pretty good value.” I think it’s extremely good value and it shows that women’s football is becoming more popular. United are also top of the table and so £60 to watch the potential defending champions for an entire season sounds like a bargain to me!
This week has been a huge week for English football with both Arsenal and Chelsea securing their spots in the Women’s Champions League semi-final. The Gunners pulled off a comeback against Bayern Munich to go through, while Chelsea secured a dramatic win over defending champions Lyon. Have a read of the reports here:
The WSL has broken another record this season, take a look:
A record breaking HALF A MILLION fans have attended #BarclaysWSL matches so far this season 🤩
And we’ve still got six gameweeks left to go 🤯
Thank you to our incredible fanbase for being a part of history 💜 pic.twitter.com/CgNH4NmidC
— Barclays Women’s Super League (@BarclaysWSL) March 31, 2023
Merricks also spoke on Manchester United as an opposition: “We have to focus on this game first, the league is really important to us. They’re a good side. Everyone in our squad is prepared to fight. We want to make it difficult and want to make people dread coming to our ground.”
Brighton boss Amy Merricks has been frank about her club’s disappointing draw to Reading last week, saying: “We should have won last weekend. We’re really frustrated but we’ll utilise that to fuel our performance this weekend. We feel like we dropped two points, so we need to pick those up elsewhere and we’re fully focussed on that.”
United manager Marc Skinner has spoken about the club’s ambitions to win the WSL this season. He told Sky: “We want to make it inevitable rather than it be a ‘nice to have’. When we meet our aspirations and we’re playing Champions League then I believe this club opens up the world to a lot of world-class players.”
Happy April Fools Day! This morning I left the room with my laptop warming up and when I came back my friend told me it made a horrible noise and shut down. I was completely convinced until she shouted April Fools at me! Have you fallen for anything or made someone believe something this morning? Let me know via email or Twitter!
Here is the team news for this morning’s match! Brighton have made one change to their starting XI with Libby Bance coming in for Guro Bergsvand.
Brighton: Williams, Pattinson, Kullberg, Morse, Fox, Zigiotti. Connolly, Robinson, Bance, Sarri, Lee.
Manchester United have also made one change to their starting line-up. Vilde Boe Risa comes into the side with Nikita Parris dropping to the bench.
United: Earps, Batlle, Blundell, Toone, Boe Risa, Zelem, Galton, Ladd, Le Tissier, Turner, Russo
Hello and welcome to this Women’s Super League match between Brighton and Manchester United. United will be looking to extend their lead at the top of the table, while Brighton will be seeking an upset to give them some breathing space from relegation.
It will be a big feat for Brighton to pull off the victory. United have only lost two games this season, whereas Brighton have only won two matches. The Seagulls had a great chance to earn valuable points last time out in the league against Reading, speeding to an early 2-0 lead. But Kelly Chambers’ side came back into it and the match finished 2-2.
It was a different story for United’s last match as they dominated West Ham 4-0. Marc Skinner’s side will want to gather all the points possible as while they are top of the table, Chelsea and Arsenal have a game in hand. The Blues would go ahead of United as things currently stand if they won their game in hand, so everything is to play for!
The team news is out so stay tuned for updates ahead of kick-off at 11.30am BST.
