Albion women's return to Withdean ended in defeat, as Gillingham progressed to the knock-out stages of the Premier League Cup as group winners.John Donoghue’s side went behind with 11 minutes on the clock when Jade Keogh’s looping effort rose over Lucy Mangan, in the first real opportunity of the match.
Albion had a chance to equalise moments later, as Lily Agg, Tammy Waine and Kim Stenning all saw their efforts blocked from inside the area.
Agg then had a chance from a set-piece, but her effort was cleared away from inside the six-yard box.
Waine then had arguably the best chance of the match, as Deanna Cooper gave the ball away inside the area, but the Albion captain could not profit and shot wide of the target.
But it was a first-half to forget for the home side, as Emma Tune doubled Gillingham’s advantage with a shot from distance that beat an unsighted Mangan ten minutes before the interval.
Any hopes of a comeback were ended 20 minutes before the final whistle, when Nikita Whinnett capitalised on a defensive error and slotted a ball into the path of Lisa Fulgence, who tapped home.
Donoghue’s side then tried to bring some respectability to the scoreline, as Kirsty Barton’s set-piece found Sophie Perry inside the box, but the full-back sliced her shot over the bar.
Stenning also had a good chance after weaving inside the Gills box, but her effort went straight into the hands of keeper Faye Baker.
The away side could have made the win even more emphatic when former Seagull Charlotte Gurr struck just wide, before Fulgence was denied by a superb last-ditch tackle from Renee Hector in the closing stages.
The result means Albion now need to win away at Tottenham on 8th December to secure qualification, and head coach Donoghue believes a lack of recent competitive action showed in a sluggish team performance.
He told seagulls.co.uk, “It’s disappointing in some aspects, but if that’s the team that’s high-flying in the league, then I think we could have done much better on the back of some more competitive games.
“We looked like a team that hadn’t played for several weeks with enough competition against us.
“They’re a team that’s been playing week after week, scoring bundles of goals and knew they were already through after winning their two previous games. We looked slightly worried about them because we weren’t feeling like we were on the front foot.”
Albion: Mangan (GK); Poole (Boswell 59), Beaumont, Hector, Carter (Owen 45); Natkiel (Whitcombe 73), Barton, Perry, Agg; Waine, Stenning. Subs not used: Sole (GK), Chandler.
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Next Three Fixtures:
17th November- Crawley Wasps (A) SCFA Cup
24th November- Chesham United (H) League*****************************************
1st December- Gillingham (A) League
Original article
Albion had a chance to equalise moments later, as Lily Agg, Tammy Waine and Kim Stenning all saw their efforts blocked from inside the area.
Agg then had a chance from a set-piece, but her effort was cleared away from inside the six-yard box.
Waine then had arguably the best chance of the match, as Deanna Cooper gave the ball away inside the area, but the Albion captain could not profit and shot wide of the target.
But it was a first-half to forget for the home side, as Emma Tune doubled Gillingham’s advantage with a shot from distance that beat an unsighted Mangan ten minutes before the interval.
Any hopes of a comeback were ended 20 minutes before the final whistle, when Nikita Whinnett capitalised on a defensive error and slotted a ball into the path of Lisa Fulgence, who tapped home.
Donoghue’s side then tried to bring some respectability to the scoreline, as Kirsty Barton’s set-piece found Sophie Perry inside the box, but the full-back sliced her shot over the bar.
Stenning also had a good chance after weaving inside the Gills box, but her effort went straight into the hands of keeper Faye Baker.
The away side could have made the win even more emphatic when former Seagull Charlotte Gurr struck just wide, before Fulgence was denied by a superb last-ditch tackle from Renee Hector in the closing stages.
The result means Albion now need to win away at Tottenham on 8th December to secure qualification, and head coach Donoghue believes a lack of recent competitive action showed in a sluggish team performance.
He told seagulls.co.uk, “It’s disappointing in some aspects, but if that’s the team that’s high-flying in the league, then I think we could have done much better on the back of some more competitive games.
“We looked like a team that hadn’t played for several weeks with enough competition against us.
“They’re a team that’s been playing week after week, scoring bundles of goals and knew they were already through after winning their two previous games. We looked slightly worried about them because we weren’t feeling like we were on the front foot.”
Albion: Mangan (GK); Poole (Boswell 59), Beaumont, Hector, Carter (Owen 45); Natkiel (Whitcombe 73), Barton, Perry, Agg; Waine, Stenning. Subs not used: Sole (GK), Chandler.
*
Next Three Fixtures:
17th November- Crawley Wasps (A) SCFA Cup
24th November- Chesham United (H) League*****************************************
1st December- Gillingham (A) League
Original article