Albion Women lost out in the battle for third place, after ending the season with a disappointing 4-0 defeat to Yeovil at Withdean.A brace from Laura Bray along with strikes from Grace Rapp and substitute Shannon Osman ensured the Glovers claimed third spot at the Seagulls’ expense.
Yeovil took the lead in the fifth minute, when Rapp fired her shot low and hard past keeper Lucy Mangan into the bottom corner.
The forward almost struck again moments later, but her shot went narrowly over the bar after a well-worked move.
Albion struggled to settle into the match, but had a good chance when Cherelle Khassal poked the ball beyond keeper Beth Howard, only for her effort to be cleared off the line.
Then Jay Lovett’s side were given a lifeline ten minutes before the break, as the referee pointed to the spot after Michelle Keehan’s push on Khassal inside the box.
Top scorer, Kim Stenning stepped up and saw the penalty saved, but the referee ordered a retake for encroachment; Howard denied the forward once again with a strong stop.
The away side continued to trouble Albion’s defence after the interval, with Bray nearly doubling their advantage as Mangan spilled Rapp’s shot from distance.
But the Glovers wrapped up the points with twenty minutes left; Bray’s shot from the edge of the box looped over the American shot-stopper and into the net, before scoring her second of the game from close range just a minute later.
The Seagulls struggled to create many clear-cut chances and were limited to hopeful efforts from Charlotte Owen and Sophie Perry.
Lily Agg attempted to add a speculative consolation goal for Albion with ten minutes left, after seeing Howard come out of area to make a clearance; the midfielder attempted a lob, but saw her shot go wide of the target.
Substitute Osman then compounded the misery in stoppage time by tapping home Bray’s ball across the box.
Manager Lovett was sad to end the season on a sour note, but is already looking ahead to pre-season.
He told Seagulls.co.uk, “It’s hard to put your finger on exactly where it went wrong today; we were taken out of our stride by a very strong and well-organised Yeovil side.
“It’s a shame to sign off the season playing the way we did, but I thought they were the better side today and deserved what they got; they created more opportunities and finished their chances well.
“It’s a disappointing day, but we’re now looking forward to pre-season.”
Albion (4-4-2): Mangan (GK); Perry, Ryan (c), James (Owen 45), Carter; Waine, Barton (Cheshire 65), Agg, Gurr; Stenning, Khassal (O’Hagan 79). Subs not used: Boswell, Somes.
Original article
Yeovil took the lead in the fifth minute, when Rapp fired her shot low and hard past keeper Lucy Mangan into the bottom corner.
The forward almost struck again moments later, but her shot went narrowly over the bar after a well-worked move.
Albion struggled to settle into the match, but had a good chance when Cherelle Khassal poked the ball beyond keeper Beth Howard, only for her effort to be cleared off the line.
Then Jay Lovett’s side were given a lifeline ten minutes before the break, as the referee pointed to the spot after Michelle Keehan’s push on Khassal inside the box.
Top scorer, Kim Stenning stepped up and saw the penalty saved, but the referee ordered a retake for encroachment; Howard denied the forward once again with a strong stop.
The away side continued to trouble Albion’s defence after the interval, with Bray nearly doubling their advantage as Mangan spilled Rapp’s shot from distance.
But the Glovers wrapped up the points with twenty minutes left; Bray’s shot from the edge of the box looped over the American shot-stopper and into the net, before scoring her second of the game from close range just a minute later.
The Seagulls struggled to create many clear-cut chances and were limited to hopeful efforts from Charlotte Owen and Sophie Perry.
Lily Agg attempted to add a speculative consolation goal for Albion with ten minutes left, after seeing Howard come out of area to make a clearance; the midfielder attempted a lob, but saw her shot go wide of the target.
Substitute Osman then compounded the misery in stoppage time by tapping home Bray’s ball across the box.
Manager Lovett was sad to end the season on a sour note, but is already looking ahead to pre-season.
He told Seagulls.co.uk, “It’s hard to put your finger on exactly where it went wrong today; we were taken out of our stride by a very strong and well-organised Yeovil side.
“It’s a shame to sign off the season playing the way we did, but I thought they were the better side today and deserved what they got; they created more opportunities and finished their chances well.
“It’s a disappointing day, but we’re now looking forward to pre-season.”
Albion (4-4-2): Mangan (GK); Perry, Ryan (c), James (Owen 45), Carter; Waine, Barton (Cheshire 65), Agg, Gurr; Stenning, Khassal (O’Hagan 79). Subs not used: Boswell, Somes.
Original article