Arsenal 1-0 Brighton: Gunners grind out victory against resilient Seagulls | OneFootball

In a scrappy, tense affair at the Emirates Stadium, Arsenal finally broke their four-match winless streak with a 1-0 win over Brighton in the Women’s Super League.

Despite dominating extended periods, the Gunners again lacked attacking fluency, but a deflected strike and a defiant goalkeeping performance proved enough to carry them through to a vital three points.

As it happened

Arsenal began well and were deservedly in front soon. On 15 minutes, Olivia Smith delivered a low cross whose trajectory was changed by Brighton defender Marisa Olislagers, wrong-footing goalkeeper Chiamaka Nnadozie and nestling in the net. Giving the hosts the lead.

However, the Gunners could not capitalise on that. Brighton gradually got into the match and were close before halftime. Kiko Seike tested Daphne van Domselaar, and she was alert enough to deny her on two occasions.

At the beginning of the second half, Arsenal had an excellent opportunity to make it 2-0. Maelys Mpomé clear off the line following an Arsenal corner routine that seemed to open Brighton’s defence. Soon, Carla Camacho’s flicked header from a cross was superbly stopped by Van Domselaar as she preserved the one-goal margin.

The game then took a worrying turn. Play was halted for around 10 minutes in the second half after Mpomé fell awkwardly, struck in the face by the ball. She was attended to on the field with a head brace and was stretchered off. Brighton manager Dario Vidošić later confirmed she had suffered a concussion.

After the restart, Brighton were handed another setback when captain Maisie Symonds was also forced off injured, compounding their defensive issues.

As the clock ticked down, Arsenal piled on the pressure. Stina Blackstenius came closest to sealing the win heading a corner onto the bar, while a shot later drifted narrowly wide. For all their endeavours, though, the margin was slender until the finish.

At full-time, Arsenal had wrestled a scrappy but unconvincing 1-0 victory. The win moves them up to fifth in the WSL table, now five points behind leaders Chelsea.

Although Brighton fought gamely, they lacked the cutting edge to cause Arsenal’s defence problems with any regularity. Nnadozie, though helpless for the own goal, made a series of decent saves, particularly from close-range attempts, but her high starting position at times looked vulnerable.

For Arsenal, this was a crucial psychological lift. Manager Renée Slegers acknowledged the shortcomings of her side’s display but was rightly thrilled to eke out a result when not at their best.

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