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Sunday 26 January 2025 20:45
Manchester United Women beat Brighton and Hove Albion 3-0 in the WSL on Sunday, in a commanding yet professional display at Leigh Sports Village.
Ella Toone opened the scoring after just a couple of minutes gone, with her low, curling effort beating former Red Sophie Baggaley in the Albion net.
Hinata Miyazawa grabbed our second goal following Toone’s smart set-piece routine, slamming a shot that flew into the bottom corner, much to the joy of her fellow team-mates.
Further gloss was added when a Celin Bizet moment of magic made it 3-0, as her long-range drive completed a smart victory.
FIRST HALF
The Reds flew out of the traps and were ahead after just two minutes thanks to our in-form no.7. Elisabeth Terland’s brilliant hold-up play to fend off the challenge from Maria Thorisdottir meant she could tee up Toone over on the left, who slotted the ball past Baggaley.
Shortly after our opener, Marc Skinner’s side had a second thanks to Toone’s quick thinking. The Lionesses midfielder cut the ball back from a free-kick to Miyazawa on the edge of the area, before she took two bites at the cherry, eventually slamming an effort into the net, her first for the club since November 2023.
Albion’s first sighter on goal came as the game reached the 20-minute mark, with Bruna Vilamala blasting her effort over the bar.
The pressure continued from United as Terland and Leah Galton both went close, with Brighton’s delicate play at the back opening up gaps for our high pressure to benefit within.
Jayde Riviere’s superb cross as we approached the interval was narrowly missed by Galton before Baggaley was called into action shortly after to keep the score at just 2-0. Miyazawa was first denied by the former Reds shot-stopper before Terland’s follow-up was also kept at bay.
SECOND HALF
The Seagulls had the best opening of the second half, as an in-swinging corner found its way through to Nikita Parris. The former Red fired over from a few yards out, sparing our blushes.
A moment of brilliance then put further shine on United’s performance as we approached the final 20 minutes, courtesy of Bizet. With possession bouncing around in midfield, the former Spurs star popped the ball through the legs of Maisie Symonds before sending a rocket that flew past Baggaley.
Brighton still seemed to be happy controlling the lion’s share of possession but failed to create any clear-cut opportunities afterwards, as the Reds’ early work in front of goal had appeared to take the sting out of the game.
United had some late defending to do to keep our clean sheet intact however, with a dangerous-looking free-kick routinely dealt with by Phallon Tullis-Joyce.
The full-time whistle was sounded soon after, confirming three points to celebrate at the final whistle, as we continued a positive start to the calendar year with a third win from four matches.
MATCH DETAILS
United: Tullis-Joyce; Riviere (Mannion 78), Le Tissier, Turner, George (Sandberg 78); Janssen, Miyazawa; Bizet (Malard 70), Toone (Clinton 70), Galton; Terland (Williams 86).
Subs not used: Middleton-Patel, Awujo.
Booked: George.
Goals: Toone 2, Miyazawa 11, Bizet 69.
Brighton: Baggaley; Thorisdottir, Bergsvand, Pattinson; McLauchlan, Losada (Symonds 46), Cankovic (Stefanovic 86), Olislagers (Carabali, 46); Vilamala (Bremer 46), Haley (Agyemang 71); Parris.
Subs not used: Loeck, Hayes, Rayner, Miranda.
Booked: Haley, Agyemang.
Attendance: 3,027.
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Sunday 26 January 2025 20:45
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