Brighton had gained one point from their previous 4 games, a lot less than expected for an up-and-coming team with upper-table ambitions.
We’re into the last 5 games of the season, and our need to win grows every week. West Ham got a point earlier in the day and were sitting 4 points ahead of us in 11th before the game. Emily Van Egmond was back from playing for Australia in the Asian Cup, and Noemie Mouchon was back on the bench. The biggest change was Sarah Mayling in at right back, with Asmita Ale not even on the bench.
Early on, the tone of the match was predictably set as Brighton dominated possession and then pressed in packs any time we managed to have the ball. The front four of Hannah Cain, Shannon O’Brien, Alisha Lehmann and Missy Goodwin were always ready to go on the break, but their defensive duties and the lack of long balls from the back meant it was very difficult to get any forward momentum.
Fran Kirby, who recently retired from international duty, was playing a very free role for Brighton, wandering around the pitch to where she was needed. She’s clearly still a cut above most others on the pitch and a great example of the kind of player that Leicester really need in this side. A proper star that’s now on the downturn, who can give some real class to a lesser-fancied team. Think Cambiasso in 2014 in vibes, not so much playing style.
We didn’t do much of note in the first half. Mayling got loose down the right-hand side and slid through Lehmann, who tried a low cross towards O’Brien into the box that was blocked by the Brighton defence. Brighton didn’t have much to show either, other than a couple of free kicks from a good position, a shot from Kafaji and Kirby nipping in behind our back line. The visitors didn’t quite have the cutting edge to get through us, and we did our usual stout defending with little up top.
Within minutes of the second half, something finally did happen, and it was obviously a Brighton goal. Kirby threaded the ball through to Kafaji, who was bursting into the box from the right, cut ahead of her marker and put it on a plate for Seike. It was the kind of goal Brighton had been threatening to score for the first 45 minutes, and it finally came. We were 1-0 down again after some good defensive work and some unimaginative attacking. The hinges on the doors of the last chance saloon were starting to catch.
One thing of note, in terms of our attacking play, is that Alisha Lehmann seemed to be given the responsibility of flicking the ball on for runners on the wings. The Instagram celebrity and the glamour has kind of covered the fact that she is a marquee signing for us, and pass the ball to Lehmann might not be a terrible idea. Every time the ball went forward, it went to Lehmann, and she was having to wait for runners who took a while to come.
Kirby played another lovely ball from the right of the Brighton midfield into Kafaji, cutting in from the right. She held onto the ball for long enough that she forced Chantelle Swaby into a tackle that could have easily led to a red card. Kirby was doing a similar job to what we’re asking Lehmann to do, and the difference in quality is obvious. She was popping up wherever she wanted and making things happen; we can only dream of some chances like that.
With 20 minutes left, we looked awfully tired. We were still digging in and defending well, but we don’t just need to keep out goals, we desperately need to score one at least. It was all summed up by O’Brien getting away down the wing and crossing into a box with 6 Brighton defenders and 3 Leicester attackers. Passmoor decided to re-arrange the deck chairs on the Titanic by bringing on Mouchon and Olivia McLoughlin for Goodwin and Emma Jansson.
The next 20 minutes played out much the same as the previous 70. Brighton played decent, controlled football and didn’t make a ton of chances. When we got the ball, we scrambled forward and lost it. It’s very hard to say what this team should do. There’s no lack of effort, but we certainly don’t have enough individual quality anywhere in this team. There’s not a lot Passmoor can do. If we defend too deep, we don’t score goals. If we try to score, we concede. I know that’s basically the whole way football works, but we fall victim to either end of the short blanket theory in such an extreme way.
There’s almost a month until we play again, there are 4 games left of the season, two of them against Arsenal and Chelsea, and then it’s curtains. There’s a very real possibility that we will go through the rest of the season without scoring another goal. This would mean that we’d close the season with a single figure total of goals scored. But we’ll get to that when we get to it. In a way, I’m looking forward to the relegation play-off, which will be yet another unique experience that this club seems drawn to. That’s my line from now until the end of the season.
The Fosse Way 