Leicester City 3 Brighton and Hove Albion 2
Despite two goals inside 10 minutes near the end, Brighton and Hove Albion were unable to snatch a point from a five-goal thriller at the King Power Stadium.
Low-scoring Leicester City – with just 10 goals from their first 16 Women’s Super League (WSL) matches this season – were 3-0 up by the break.
Shannon O’Brien put the Foxes in front in the 11th minute, punishing an Albion error and finishing with a cracking effort from the edge of the box.
Hannah Cain took the advantage as Albion gave the ball away by the halfway line in the 35th minute, surging forward before playing the ball in from the tight for a close-range tap-in from Saori Takarada.
On the stroke of half-time, Shana Chossenotte latched on to a cross from Cain. The ball took a deflection off Brighton defender Rachel McLaughlan and past Melina Loeck for Leicester’s third.
With less than 20 minutes to play, Nikita Parris played the ball to Madison Haley who let fly a long-range shot that inched past Janina Leitzig.
Moment later, the hosts were awarded a penalty but Loeck managed to save Yuka Momiki’s spot-kick.
Momiki then felled Parris in the Leicester box and Fran Kirby – who scored the only goal of the match against Tottenham Hotspur last weekend – stepped up and showed the Foxes how to do it.
With the score at 3-2, it made for an edgy final 10 minutes for the hosts.
Overall, the Seagulls enjoyed 70 per cent of the possession but paid the price when they gave the ball away and otherwise struggled to make the advantage count.
They sit fifth in the table behind Chelsea, Arsenal and the two Manchester sides. With 22 points from 17 games, they have one point more than Liverpool in sixth while Everton in seventh have 19 points.
Leicester stay 10th with 15 points, five clear of Aston Villa in 11th and with six more points than bottom side Crystal Palace.
