Saturday 11th February
FA WSL 2 SPRING SERIES
London Bees 1-1 Brighton & Hove Albion (Att: 703)
Brighton’s first ever WSL fixture saw them lead London Bees at the break through an Alessia Russo effort but Ashleigh Goodard equalised for the hosts to earn a draw in front of over 700 fans at The Hive.
Jo Wilson might have given London Bees an early lead after rounding Emma Byrne but her shot was cleared off the line by Jenna Legg.
With 14 minutes played, Russo fired a powerful shot into the top corner after cutting in and beating two defenders.
Kate Natkiel should have doubled the lead when put through one-on-one but a great save by Shayla Burgess denied her.
Byrne kept Albion ahead when turning Lucy Loomes’ powerful strike out for a corner but the Bees continued to battle back after the interval, culminating in Goddard turning in a Paula Howells cross to the back post on 55 minutes.
The Bees pressed as Wilson shot narrowly over and then Evie Clarke was close to beating Byrne on her near post.
Albion then threatened at the end as a Russo penalty claim was waved away and Natkiel’s effort at the death was saved by Burgess.
There are four more fixtures in the competition on Sunday:
Aston Villa v Watford (Tamworth FC, 2pm)
Durham v Millwall Lionesses (Durham City FC, 12:00)
Oxford United v Everton (Abingdon United FC, 2pm)
Sheffield FC v Doncaster Rovers Belles (Sheffield FC, 2pm)
Pictured – Ashleigh Goddard battles with Vicky Ashton Jones (Photo: FA via Getty Images)
