Both sets of players needed time to find their feet in difficult conditions at the Broadfield Stadium, but it was Chelsea who created the better chances as the first half went on. Niamh Charles was denied twice by Megan Walsh in the Brighton goal before the shot-stopper tipped a dangerous long-range drive from England over the crossbar, leaving nothing to separate the sides at the break.

We began the second half with purpose and netted the opening goal on 58 minutes. England was first to react to the rebound after Charles’ header came back off the crossbar from Eve Perisset’s corner. With a nervous finale in store, substitute Harder was left one-on-one against Walsh and rifled the ball beyond the Brighton goalkeeper to seal the victory in West Sussex.

The selection

General Manager Paul Green highlighted the need for squad rotation during a busy period of fixtures and the Blues made seven changes for the trip to the South Coast. Berger, Millie Bright, Charles and Erin Cuthbert kept their places from the midweek triumph in Paris.

There were the same three absentees with Melanie Leupolz on maternity leave, while Jelena Cankovic and Fran Kirby continue to recover from injury and illness respectively. With Magdalena Eriksson on the bench to begin with, Bright took the armband on our return to league action.

It was a 4-2-3-1 formation for Chelsea with Aniek Nouwen, Eve Perisset and Jess Carter coming into the defence. Jessie Fleming partnered Cuthbert in holding midfield while Lauren James and Johanna Rytting Kaneryd joined Charles ahead of them, leaving England to lead the attack.

Weathering the storm

Treacherous conditions in the build-up to this match cleared prior to kick-off, leaving a soaking wet surface for the players to contend with. A large and buoyant crowd gathered at Broadfield Stadium with the Sky Sports cameras also present. Chelsea got the game underway in our gold alternate kit and looked to settle into proceedings with early spells of possession.

James was looking lively from the off while Perisset and Rytting Kaneryd were showing signs of promising link-up play down the right-hand side. Brighton were making use of the wide areas themselves and forced the Blues to do some defending inside the opening 15 minutes, delivering some low crosses into the box that were dealt with effectively.

A couple of through balls down the right side left Rytting Kaneryd with space to drive into, but the Swede was twice thwarted as the ball got stuck in water inside the penalty area. There was a brief stoppage in play while Brighton’s Kayleigh Green received some treatment, giving both sets of players a chance to take a breather and regroup with 25 minutes on the clock.

Testing the water

Neither side had created any clear-cut chances but with half an hour played, the Blues conjured their first decent opening. A free-kick to the back post was met by Charles, who guided the ball towards goal only to be denied by an alert Walsh in the Brighton goal. Another swift attack down the right just moments later saw the ball fall for Cuthbert, who fired over from the edge of the box.

Chelsea were trying to move through the gears and were keeping the ball confidently. However, they were met by an organised Brighton defensive line who were proving difficult to break down. Half-time was creeping closer and the Blues continued to probe, James feeding England inside the penalty area only for Walsh to race off her line and cut out the danger.

With five minutes until the break, we turned up the tempo with two chances in quick succession. Charles headed into the grateful gloves of Walsh from Perisset’s inviting corner, before England’s long-range effort was tipped over the crossbar by the Brighton goalkeeper. After two minutes of additional time, there was nothing to separate the teams we entered the break goalless.

Finding the breakthrough

Brighton got the second half underway but inside two minutes, Chelsea thought they had broken the deadlock. Fleming’s strike was parried into the path of England who tucked home the rebound confidently, only to be denied by the offside flag. The spaces were there for the Blues, the challenge was taking advantage of them.

It was end-to-end football momentarily as Carter performed some vital defending in the goalmouth to deny the hosts an opener, before England was frustrated by another last-ditch tackle at the opposite end. Perisset and Rytting Kaneryd combined nicely down the right-side, once again forcing Brighton to concede a corner that would prove costly.

On 58 minutes, Chelsea unlocked the door and opened the scoring courtesy of England. Charles attacked another floating corner from Perisset and watched as the ball came back off the crossbar, falling kindly for England, who punished the hosts on the rebound, giving the Blues the lead as they started to ramp up the pressure.

Sealing the deal

Moments later, we were almost caught out when a drilled ball into the penalty area caused chaos and forced Berger into an excellent reaction save. The Blues went in search of a second goal and Perisset almost found it, unleashing a stunning effort from range which left the crossbar shaking much to our frustration.

With 25 minutes remaining, we made a double change with Eriksson and Guro Reiten replacing Carter and Charles. Reiten was deployed on the left side of the midfield, while Eriksson took up the left-back position with which she has become accustomed. Sam Kerr and Harder were introduced swiftly after with James and goalscorer England making way.

Brighton were not going away and almost found an equaliser when Katie Robinson ran through on goal but dragged her effort wide of the target. Sophie Ingle was introduced in place of Fleming with eight minutes of normal time remaining in an attempt to protect our narrow advantage with the game hanging in the balance.

With a nervous finale looking likely, substitute Harder made sure of the points with four minutes remaining. The Dane was put through on goal and confidently picked her spot, smashing the ball into the roof of the net with conviction to ensure all three points would be heading back to London with the Blues.

What’s next?

You don’t have to wait long to see the Blues back in action as we return to Kingsmeadow for the first time in three matches this Wednesday 26th October. Our attention switches back to the UEFA Women’s Champions League with Albanian side Vllaznia the visitors on matchday two, with kick-off at 8pm (UK time)

After an impressive 1-0 victory away at Paris Saint-Germain on matchday one, Chelsea will be looking to tighten their grip on Group A with a victory on home soil.

Brighton & Hove Albion (4-4-1-1): Walsh; Green, Williams, Kullberg, Pattinson; Robinson, Bance (Park 79), Zigiotti, Sarri; Lee; Terland (Carter 70)
Unused subs: Startup, Jarvis, Ferguson, Connolly, Stott

Chelsea (4-2-3-1): Berger; Perisset, Nouwen, Bright, Carter (Eriksson 66); Fleming (Ingle 82), Cuthbert; Charles (Reiten 66), James (Harder 72), Kaneryd; England (Kerr 72)
Unused Subs: Musovic, Buchanan, Abdullina, Svitkova
Scorers: England 58; Harder 86

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