Rinsola Babajide proved to be the match-winner after coming off the bench for Liverpool against Brighton
Brighton (0) 0
Liverpool (0) 1 (Babajide 85)
Substitute Rinsola Babajide broke Brighton’s hearts with a late winner to condemn the FAWSL newcomers to their third successive league defeat in a match they didn’t deserve to lose.
The Liverpool substitute finished a move she had started, moments after joining the action, to give her troubled club a much-needed boost.
Until that moment, the game looked to be heading for a goalless draw – which would have represented progress for Brighton as they come to terms with full-time football in the top tier and a reasonable end to a challenging couple of weeks for Liverpool, whose manager, Neil Redfearn, quit on September 14 after just one league game in charge of the former FAWSL champions.
Assistant manager Vicky Jepson took charge in the absence of interim boss Chris Kirkland, who had a prior engagement. And she was understandably ecstatic after seeing her side turn one point into three, courtesy of the player she had sent on to add attacking impetus just a few minutes earlier.
Ellie Brazil was one of those feeling the effects of three taxing games in quick succession, according to Brighton manager Hope Powell (Photo: Geoff Penn/BHA)
Until that moment Brighton had shaded the match without ever looking much of a threat in front of goal.
Liverpool’s own attacking triumvirate of Jess Clarke, Niamh Charles and Kirsty Linnett foundered time and again on the Brighton rock-like defence of Kirsty Barton, Fliss Gibbons, Laura Rafferty and especially Victoria Williams – a giant of a player in all senses of the word.
Williams, signed by manager Hope Powell in the summer from Sunderland, was magnificent at the heart of a defence that coped well with Liverpool’s limited threat, winning aerial and ground battles and showing calmness and composure under pressure.
It took 16 minutes to produce the first shot on goal, Charles’s long-range effort flying well wide.
Kayleigh Green responded almost instantly with a header that went wide from Ellie Brazil’s excellent first-time cross.
But in a half of total commitment and good technique there was precious little in the way of clear-cut chances.
A wonderful sequence of largely first-time passing involving virtually the whole Brighton team, midway through the first half, summed up the opening 45 minutes – more than 20 passes, good movement off the ball, but no shot at goal at the end of it.
Two strong midfields largely cancelled each other out (Photo: Geoff Penn/BHA)
It took Liverpool 36 minutes to win their first corner. Their second came just eight minutes into the second half, as the game opened up a little.
But still there were few genuine openings until Kirsty Barton – a midfielder revelling in her right-back role – conjured up a wonderful volley from 35 yards, but Anke Preuss, in the Liverpool goal, was equal to it.
Liverpool responded instantly, but Charles hit her cross-shot straight at Lucy Gillett, and then almost immediately, the hard-working Christie Murray fired in a rocket from all of 40 yards, but inevitably, given the way the game was going, it went wide.
Preuss had to rescue Liverpool on 58 minutes when Kate Natkiel found Aileen Whelan, whose slide-rule pass behind the defence found Green through on goal, but the German saved with her legs and her defence completed the clearance.
Jepson immediately sent on Courtney Sweetman-Kirk for fellow striker Kirsty Linnett, but it was her second substitution, on 79 minutes, that was to prove crucial.
Laura Rafferty was part of a rock-solid Brighton defence that repelled Liverpool until the last five minutes (Photo: Geoff Penn/BHA)
England under-20 striker Babajide replaced Murray in midfield, and it was her excellent run from the halfway line that set up what was to prove the decisive goal.
She found Sweetman-Kirk with an intelligent through-ball, only for the striker to be thwarted by yet another outstanding tackle by Williams.
But the ball fell to Babajide, who slotted home confidently from 20 yards.
It was a stunning blow for Brighton, who had looked so comfortable against experienced opposition for most of the match.
And despite the late introduction of last season’s Brighton top scorer, Ini Umotong, the Sussex side could not breach the excellent Liverpool defence, who not only hung on for a most welcome first win of the season but also earned their first clean sheet of the campaign.
Stand-in boss Vicky Jepson could barely hide her delight. She told Sent Her Forward: “I’m absolutely over the moon. It took us six hours to get down last night, so when you go back with three points there’s no better feeling in football.”
The Liverpool coach, who has been working with goalkeeping coach Chris Kirkland since Redfearn’s bombshell nine days ago, praised the attitude of those he left behind as the club attempted to bounce back from a league hammering by Arsenal and a Continental Cup setback against Manchester United before taking a bonus point off Durham last week after their 3-3 draw in the same competition.
She said: “We’ve regrouped after Durham and we’ve looked at the things we need to be better at. We’ve also done our homework on Brighton and looked at their strengths and how to put out fires that they may create and how to create our own going forward.
“It hasn’t been a tough week, to be honest, because we’ve got such a positive group and great backroom staff to keep us gelled together.”
Jepson, Kirkland and the backroom staff were responsible for selecting a side that looked focused on keeping a first clean sheet of the season rather than going gung-ho for goals.
“Rinsola (Babajide) certainly made a difference coming on in midfield, but it could be risky because we lose the security taking Christie (Murray) off. But I knew that if we wanted to get three points out of it, we needed someone who is positive on the ball, and that’s what Rinsola brought to us, coming on and making runs from midfield.
“I’m absolutely delighted with her performance today.”
Hope Powell was rightly upbeat despite the devastating late blow. She said her newly assembled side would continue to learn from their experience as a full-time club – and she felt the performance was not reflected in the result.
She said: “I’ll have to watch it back, but I thought we were the better team. We just need to find a way of getting over the edge – conceding that sloppy goal and making sure we create a little bit more further up and put the ball in the back of the net.
“So I’m pleased and disappointed all at the same time. I think we performed better, football-wise. We kept the ball better, passed it better – did all those things better apart from stopping them scoring and scoring the other end.
“It’s hard for the girls. They thought they were the better team, so it’s a hard one to take, but we have to take it. We have no choice.”
Powell also said that their third game in a week had taken its toll on the players, even though for much of the game they looked more than capable of competing with a slightly fresher Liverpool side.
“If you look at Ellie Brazil, who’s one of the fittest, she ran out of steam. She sprinted two miles in the Birmingham game (last Wednesday). It’s been hard,” she said.
“But I think when you’re in control of the game, it doesn’t feel quite as tiring until, perhaps, you go behind, and then you get a little bit leggy. So they were a bit tired, but that’s not an excuse.”
Sent Her Forward player of the match: Victoria Williams (Brighton)
What a class performance by the central defender. She won most of her aerial battles and was a rock at the back for Brighton. Her pace and anticipation put her in the right position to break up attacks, and her composure under pressure enabled her to distribute the ball with accuracy.
The entire back four were impressive, with Kirsty Barton outstanding at right-back, where she generally handled Niamh Charles and Jess Clarke well.
Kayleigh Green and Ellie Brazil also contributed well before fading, and a special word for Lucy Gillett, who apart from the goal had little to do in the way of saves but brought an added dimension to Brighton’s attacking play with her distribution.
Jess Clarke began the match well for Liverpool, but was increasingly well shackled by Fliss Gibbons and Barton on the flanks, while midfield dynamo Christie Murray made her side tick.
And she might only have been on the pitch for just over 10 minutes, but Rinsola Babajide brought verve – and especially directness and positivity – to the side.
Sent Her Forward match rating: 7/10
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