Aston Villa 3 Brighton and Hove Albion 1
Defeat at Aston Villa could not stop Brighton and Hove Albion from ending the season in fifth – their best finish in the Women’s Super League (WSL).
It was five wins on the trot for the hosts, with Ebony Salmon opening the scoring at Villa Park with a curled finish after just five minutes.
Rachel Daly made it two on the stroke of half-time and Mayumi Pacheco made sure of the points with 16 minutes left on the clock.
Nikita Parris netted a late consolation for the Seagulls who kept up the fight even when any hope of salvaging a point had faded.
The early goal from Salmon was a blow as she fired home with a right-footed shot from outside the box to the bottom right corner. Chasity Grant was credited with the assist.
Michelle Agyemang had the best chances for Brighton in the first half, forcing a save from close range after nine minutes and another save just four minutes later.
On 36 minutes, from a corner, Marisa Olislagers played on the ball and Agyemang headed from close quarters but the ball went high and wide.
Agyemang was booked for a foul just over five minutes later and, after the break, Rachel McLauchlan came on in her place.
With a minute to play before the interval, Rachel Daly scored with a shot from the centre of the box to the centre of the goal to put Villa two-up at half-time.
Brighton put Sabrina D’Angelo under pressure as the second half got under way while at the other end Villa tried for a third goal.
By the hour, Albion had won three corners, with Parris coming closest to pulling one back with a header. Kiko Seike also had a chance blocked.
Fran Kirby replaced Bruna Vilamala just after the hour and moments later had her first shot, with another decent effort not long after.
Then, within a minute of each other, Seike hit one post and Kirby hit the other as the Seagulls continued to push to get back in the game.
On 72 minutes, Villa sent Sarah Mayling on as a sub for Katie Robinson and two minutes later she set up Maz Pacheco who put the match beyond reach for the visitors.
There was still time for Dejana Stefanovic to pick up a yellow card for handball before, in the last minute of stoppage time, Pauline Bremer teed up Parris.
She made no mistake in bagging a consolation goal for Brighton – her 13th of the season.
