r/FAWSL

How come y'all don't always do them? In the NWSL reddit, we have one for every match. I came on here wanting to talk to other fans about the games and lo and behold, nadda. I hope there's more interaction on here next season.

Really shocked to see that Birmingham City WFC have "released" a huge chunk of their team after they secured promotion to WSL1 - and none of them were even given the opportunity to say a proper goodbye to the fans. That includes the club captain, Christie Harrison-Murray, who led her team to victory; Lucy Quinn, who's been at the club for years and has been instrumental to their success; and Lily Agg, whose mum posted underneath the announcement to say that her daughter was currently in a wheelchair (after suffering through an ACL injury, cancer and an achillies rupture) and had been left without any support/care from the club. Needless to say, her comment was swiftly removed.

So they're now in a position where injured players have been left to fend for themselves and a lot of the team who fought so hard to gain promotion will never actually get to experience playing in WSL1 - and while I know they're going to need to reshuffle/add depth to the squad to stand a fighting chance, it begs the question, why fight for promotion at all when you're effectively going to be made redundant for your efforts?

Yes, football is a business, and I know you can't base decisions on loyalty or sentimentality, but we're living in a world where clubs are willingly losing some of their top players: Katie McCabe, Sam Kerr, Beth Mead, Bethany England - even potentially Bunny Shaw, who's widely considered to be the best in the league. Yes, you could argue that Arsenal did eventually offer McCabe and Mead a last-minute contract, but that was after months of making them feel like they weren't wanted or valued enough to be asked to stay.

It must be so tough for the players when there's no job security, everyone's replaceable (even if you're a top-tier player/club legend), and you know that getting any form of injury is going to make you disposable, regardless of your previous performance/loyalty to the club. To have to sit on the bench when you know you have so much more to give; to never be given the chance/minutes you need to show that you're capable of getting back to your best; to know that the club you built your life around could one day drop you like a lead balloon - and then the fans will roast you for going somewhere else! Damn, football is brutal. 😢

#FT: Brighton & Hove Albion 1-2 Tottenham Hotspur

---

Venue: American Express Stadium

Auto-refreshing reddit comments link

---

LINE-UPS

Brighton & Hove Albion

Sophie Baggaley, Moeka Minami, Caitlin Hayes, Manuela Vanegas, Charlize Rule (Maelys Mpomé), Jelena Cankovic, Maisie Symonds, Marisa Olislagers (Olaug Tvedten), Kiko Seike (Rosa Kafaji), Madison Haley, Fran Kirby (Nadine Noordam).

Subs: Bex Rayner, Fuka Tsunoda, Carla Camacho, Chiamaka Nnadozie, Rachel McLauchlan.

^____________________________

Tottenham Hotspur

Lize Kop, Amanda Nildén, Toko Koga, Julie Blakstad, Ella Morris, Olivia Holdt (Eveliina Summanen), Signe Gaupset (Olga Ahtinen), Drew Spence, Cathinka Tandberg (Bethany England), Matilda Vinberg, Maika Hamano (Lenna Gunning-Williams).

Subs: Araya Dennis, Molly Bartrip, Eleanor Heeps, Josefine Rybrink, Matilda Nildén.

---

MATCH EVENTS | via ESPN

45' Substitution, Tottenham Hotspur Women. Lenna Gunning-Williams replaces Maika Hamano.

49' Goal! Brighton and Hove Albion Women 1, Tottenham Hotspur Women 0. Madison Haley (Brighton and Hove Albion Women) left footed shot from very close range to the bottom left corner following a fast break.

54' Amanda Nildén (Tottenham Hotspur Women) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.

64' Substitution, Brighton and Hove Albion Women. Maelys Mpome replaces Charlie Rule because of an injury.

64' Substitution, Brighton and Hove Albion Women. Nadine Noordam replaces Fran Kirby.

66' Ella Morris (Tottenham Hotspur Women) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.

68' Caitlin Hayes (Brighton and Hove Albion Women) is shown the yellow card.

79' Substitution, Tottenham Hotspur Women. Bethany England replaces Cathinka Tandberg.

81' Goal! Brighton and Hove Albion Women 1, Tottenham Hotspur Women 1. Olivia Holdt (Tottenham Hotspur Women) right footed shot from the centre of the box to the top right corner. Assisted by Julie Blakstad.

82' Substitution, Brighton and Hove Albion Women. Rosa Kafaji replaces Kiko Seike.

86' Drew Spence (Tottenham Hotspur Women) is shown the yellow card.

90' Substitution, Brighton and Hove Albion Women. Olaug Tvedten replaces Marisa Olislagers.

90'+2' Goal! Brighton and Hove Albion Women 1, Tottenham Hotspur Women 2. Toko Koga (Tottenham Hotspur Women) right footed shot from outside the box to the bottom right corner.

90'+7' Substitution, Tottenham Hotspur Women. Olga Ahtinen replaces Signe Gaupset.

90'+7' Substitution, Tottenham Hotspur Women. Eveliina Summanen replaces Olivia Holdt.

---

^(Don't see a thread for a match you're watching?) ^(Click here) ^(to learn how to request a match thread from this bot.)