Everton Women hosted Brighton Women at the Walton Hall Park on Sunday in the FAWSL. The game ended in an even 2-2 with Brighton displaying a resilient performance for 90 minutes with their pressing system. In this tactical analysis, I shall examine how Brighton’s tactics (xG 0.40) managed to neutralise Everton (xG 1.51), especially in the first half. With a closer analysis of Brighton’s pressing strategy, I shall pick out instances from the game which helped them control the midfield against a technically stronger side.
Lineups
Everton Women
MacIver, Wold, Finnigan, Sevecke, Turner, Graham, Egurrola (Stringer 77’), Emslie (Sørensen 632), Christiansen, Raso, Gauvin (Boye-Hlorkah 772)
Subs: Pike, Clemaron, Korpela, Clinton, Pattinson
Brighton Women
Walsh, Le Tissier, Kerkdijk, Bowman, Gibbons, Connolly, OSullivan, Green, Kaagman, Whelan, Lee (Jarrett 652)
Subs: Heroum, Stott, Brazil, Barton, Simpkins, Fiskerstrand
Everton, under Willie Kirk, lined-up in a 4-3-3 during the game which became a 4-1-4-1 while defending. The front three of Valérie Gauvin (xG 0.47), Hayley Raso (xG 0.37) and Claire Emslie (xG 0.35) offered a lot of threat to Brighton’s defence, while Izzy Christiansen and Lucy Graham provided the technical edge in the midfield, with Damaris Egurrola sitting behind them as the pivot.
Hope Powell’s Brighton shaped up as a 4-4-2 for most of the game, but their pressing movements changed the positions of the players constantly. The two forwards, Inessa Kaagman and Lee Geum-min were utilised for their playmaking ability more than as typical target players. As the forwards dropped deeper, the wide midfielders and fullbacks were able to attack the spaces forward. Felicity Gibbons clearly stood out in this game with an incredible performance at right-back. Let’s look in the next sections how exactly Brighton’s pressing system functioned.
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