Yui Hasegawa saved Manchester City’s blushes and scored the winner to earn Andree Jeglertz his first competitive win as manager against Brighton & Hove Albion at the Joie Stadium.
City, vying to win the Women’s Super League title for the first time since 2016, fell behind when Fran Kirby converted from inside the penalty area after just 14 minutes before Khadija Shaw kickstarted her side’s comeback on 58 minutes.
The forward met a pin-point cross from Leila Ouahabi as substitutes Kerolin and Aoba Fujino later made the all-important impact to set up Hasegawa’s first WSL goal of the season to grant the hosts all three points.
Story of the Match
It was a game dominated by end-to-end football but City were the much stronger side and eventually prevailed after running into difficulty when trying to balance the game when Kirby made her mark so early.
There were perhaps some instances of deja vu given how wasteful City were, mirroring their defeat to Chelsea at Stamford Bridge last week, but Hasegawa was calm in the moment that mattered most just 16 minutes from time.
Those to thank are the substitutes, Kerolin and Fujino, who made the biggest impact when their one-touch football set the Japanese midfielder up for a simple, right-footed finish from the left side of the penalty area.
Brighton had initially opened the scoring just moments after they were on the verge of going down in the game when Vivianne Miedema was played through on goal from a stunning pass by Shaw.
Shaw scored the equaliser after 58 minutes (Photo by Carl Recine/Getty Images)
Miedema, the Women’s Super League’s record goalscorer, found herself one-on-one with Brighton’s irresistible Chiamaka Nnadozie but couldn’t get the ball out of her feet in time for a shot on goal.
Then in perfect response to that opportunity, Kirby, the goalscorer, broke free on a counter-attack before supplying Michelle Agyemang down the left wing, whose shot tested Khiara Keating considerably.
The City goalkeeper thought she had done her side a favour but just moments later saw the ball smack against the bottom left corner of her net when Rachel McLaughlan, standing at the far post, pulled back for Kirby before she opened her WSL account at the perfect time.
City got their revenge in the second half when Ouahabi was effective, despite being out of position, when she crossed towards the back post in a move that Shaw bounced on.
The prospect of a goal is always likely when Shaw’s tall frame is spotted inside the area and this time proved not too dissimilar as the Jamaica forward, who is City’s top goalscorer, leaped towards the cross and got the better of Nnadozie at the North Stand.
Kirby struck after 14 minutes (Photo by Charlotte Tattersall - WSL/Getty Images)
Jeglertz’s side were wasteful against Chelsea on the opening day, having scored just once from 17 shots on goal, and were equally wasteful here despite creating plenty of chances.
Even inside 55 seconds City managed to muster two opportunities, though they couldn;t be converted by Miedema and an energetic, and highly talented, Iman Beney in her second game for the club.
The hosts’ best chance, though, came just seconds from the interval when Beney and Lauren Hemp played some satisfactory one-touch football before Miedema was played through on goal down the left before her left-footed shot was guided out by Nnadozie.
Brighton had chances of their own and, by half time, looked the much more prominent and threatening side with Agyemang, on loan from Arsenal, coming inches away from doubling her side’s lead on 38 minutes.
Kirby whipped an early cross, which was met by Maisie Symonds at the back post, before Agyemang tried to head the ball in from the six-yard box but missed narrowly.