Brighton and Hove Albion Women’s manager Dario Vidošić felt his side’s 4-0 defeat to Manchester City didn’t tell the full story of their first ever FA Cup final at Wembley.
Despite a strong showing in the first half-hour, Albion went into the break 2-0 down after goals from Khadija “Bunny” Shaw and City captain Alex Greenwood.
The WSL champions came out from the interval completely rejuvenated and ran away with proceedings, with goals from substitutes Aoba Fujino and Vivianne Miedema taking the game away from the Seagulls.
It meant that Albion were comprehensively beaten in their first attempt at clinching the prestigious trophy, but despite the unflattering nature of the final score, Vidošić saw plenty to be positive about.
Madison Haley of Brighton & Hove Albion clashes with Ayaka Yamashita of Manchester City during the FA Cup Final (Photo by Warren Little/Getty Images)placeholder image
Madison Haley of Brighton & Hove Albion clashes with Ayaka Yamashita of Manchester City during the FA Cup Final (Photo by Warren Little/Getty Images)
He said: “I think as much as we'll be disappointed with today, I feel the result is a little bit unfair on the girls in particular for the way they performed and their effort today.
“But it wasn't that long ago when we were all probably fighting to get five minutes of dominance against a City team, and then to do what we've done today at Wembley - for the first time these girls are experiencing this day, to be that brave to play. So really, really proud, and we've got a lot of stuff to look forward to in the future.”
While admitting he ‘hopes’ to keep the core of his squad this summer, Vidošić hinted at a busy summer for the Albion.
He said: “The club has started, so there's a couple that will hopefully be announced relatively soon. I think it will be a continuous work, especially as the season's coming to an end. I've haven't asked too much or been too involved in it, just [been] trying to focus really on the FA Cup final, but I'm sure it will be a fairly busy summer.”
And on this performance and the season as a whole, he added: “I'll review it. I'll watch it back. I'll review the whole season, and hopefully we'll see how we go in the summer, in terms of players that potentially could be coming to the club.
“We always want to try and play to players' strengths, so the idea of how we want to play will remain the same, but it's always dependent on the players. We can't ask someone to do something they can't do or they're not comfortable with, but we want to keep taking these steps.
“We can gain a lot of confidence now, not just from today, but also from the previous weeks of what we've been able to do against some really, really good teams.
“It fills us with a lot of confidence through the disappointment, which will hurt for a little while, but hopefully we can use that motivation and that fire for the next season.”
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