Crystal Palace 0 Brighton and Hove Albion 1
Barcelona loan signing Bruna Vilamala scored her first goal for Brighton and Hove Albion as they beat newly promoted Crystal Palace by a single goal in the Women’s Super League
The result today (Sunday 13 October) leaves Brighton with three wins from their first four matches and in fourth place in the table.
Vilamala, 22, scored from close range 10 minutes before half-time at Gander Green Lane, also known as the VBS Stadium, where Sutton United play their home games.
The first WSL meeting between the two sides was a hard-fought affair, scrappy at time, and with few clear-cut chances.
Head coach Dario Vidosic could take comfort from how his side kept the home side at bay even though they seemed less fluent at times than in their victories over Everton and Aston Villa.
Just inside 10 minutes from the start, the first strike almost went to Palace as former Albion defender Fliss Gibbons had a crack at goal. A deflection sent the ball wide.
Before long, Albion dominated possession but, for the first half hour, they lacked bite in front of goal, giving the hosts a growing confidence although they also created few real chances.
On 35 minutes, Jelena Cancovic sent in a cross from wide on the left and Shae Yanez, in the Palace goal, couldn’t hold in to it, under pressure from Nikita Parris.
As the home side appealed for a foul on Yanez, Vilamala pounced to poke the ball into an empty net.
Cancovic, making her first league start, went off injured in the 38th minute, with Maisie Symonds taking her place.
Albion ought to have gone 2-0 up before the break when Pauline Bremer won the ball back 30 yards out and played Fran Kirby in on goal. Yanez was equal to the challenge on this occasion, fielding Kirby’s powerful strike.
Yanez kept Palace in the match shortly after the interval with another good save from midfielder Vicky Losada.
As the second half wore on, Palace ramped up the pressure in search of an equaliser, with Sophie Baggaley making a crucial late save from Annabel Blanchard.
It wasn’t all one-way traffic, though, and Guro Bergsvand scored from a corner but the goal was disallowed because of a foul on Yanez.
The corner was earned from an attack by subs Kiko Seike and Michelle Agyemang, with the Japan international crossing for the 18-year-old loan signing.
Next Saturday (19 October) at 12.330pm, Albion are due host third place Manchester United in the WSL at the Amex.
