Brighton and Hove Albion Hold Chelsea at 2-2 Draw.

Brighton held Chelsea to a 2-2 draw at Broadfield stadium in gameweek 15 of the Women’s Super League.

Chelsea scored first through a great goal from Baltimore but soon found themselves behind after goals for Olislagers and Losada. Lauren James rescued Chelsea’s undefeated record with an equaliser for the West London side in the 61st minute.

Ahead of the game, there were huge talking points about both teams' lineups. For Brighton, Fran Kirby starting after her return from injury was a huge boost for the side. Fran Kirby departed Chelsea in May 2024 and is described as a ‘club legend’ so for her to face her former side was also a significant talking point. This game also saw Chelsea’s record signing Naomi Girma make her debut for the club after signing for Bompastor’s side in January.

Lauren James got the game underway and had the first touch of the game. Brighton maintained good pressure on Chelsea in the opening ten minutes of the game and had some close opportunities towards goal. 

After a flurry of Brighton dominance and chances, Chelsea broke towards goal and Sandy Baltimore scored a great volley to put Chelsea a goal ahead in the sixteenth minute. Almost immediately after Chelsea’s goal, Brighton nearly scored an equaliser however - this effort went just wide. 

Brighton’s resilience and attacking intent paid off in the 22nd minute as Nikita Parris’ great passage of play which resulted in Olislagers slotting the ball past Millie Bright and Hannah Hampton to level up scoring terms.

Both sides had moments which they could have capitalised on to put their sides ahead. Lauren James took aim however Loeck managed to claim her effort. On the opposite end of the pitch, Lionesses Parris and Kirby both had opportunities which went over Hannah Hampton’s goal.

In the 42nd minute, Vicky Losada put the home side ahead through a close range strike. Brighton had worked hard throughout the first half and the performance from them was worthy of them being the side ahead come half time.

Half time: 2-1

The second half began with Bompastor making a half time substitution which saw Keira Walsh replaced by Oriane Jean-Francois. 

In the early stages of the second half, both sides continued to have opportunities towards goal. Chelsea built up momentum and found themselves with set piece opportunities through corners yet these opportunities were wasted. 

Unfortunately for Naomi Girma, her debut was cut short as she had to be replaced through injury in the 60th minute. Nathalie Bjorn made way onto the pitch as Girma went off. Another substitution followed for Chelsea with Mayra Ramirez being introduced in place of Sjoeke Nusken.

Mayra Ramirez’s excellent attacking presence was demonstrated almost immediately as she made impressive runs towards goal for the away side. With the introduction of Ramirez, Aggie Beever-Jones found a position on the pitch where she played with what seemed like much more confidence.

In the 61st minute, Lauren James scored from close range and rescued a point for her side. 

As the second half went on, both sides had more opportunities and there were a few more stoppages throughout the game from injuries. For Brighton - Losada, Kirby and Olislagers all had to be withdrawn from the pitch due to injuries. 

In Front of goal, either of the sides could have claimed a winner however were not successful in doing so. There were penalty calls from both sides in the second half however neither side claimed penalties from the referee.

There were nine additional minutes added onto the 90 and a bit more than the nine was played due to a few stoppages in additional time. No team could find the winner so both sides came away with one point each.

At the end of gameweek fifteen and the conclusion of all league games, Brighton sit in fifth place on 19 points and next face Tottenham away. Chelsea still sit in first place on 41 points but their seven point lead is now a five point lead ahead of second place Manchester United. Chelsea next host Leicester City on Wednesday night - who alongside Brighton, are the only team to take points away from Chelsea so far this season.

Starting XI’s:

Brighton and Hove Albion:Loeck, Thorisdottir, Bergsvand, Pattinson, McLauchlan, Losada, Noordam, Olislagers, Haley, Kirby and Parris.

Chelsea FC:

Hampton, Bronze, Bright, Girma, Baltimore, Walsh, Nusken, Rytting Kaneryd, Kaptein, James and Beever-Jones.