Nikita Parris secures United win over Brighton

After only one session with their new interim manager, Brighton were comfortably beaten by Manchester United - and saw themselves move closer to the bottom of the table.

Brighton travelled to Leigh Sports Village without Melissa Phillips, sacked as manager in a surprise move earlier this week. Albion were seeking to distance themselves from the relegation place, while every game for Marc Skinner’s side at the moment is a battle to stay in the race for Champions League football next year. The reverse fixture was a highlight of Brighton's season in November, where only a late Rachel Williams goal saved a point for United in a 2-2 draw.

The hosts started the game strongly, with Geyse’s skill and pace on the right hand side looking threatening; Lisa Naalsund, starting her third consecutive game for United, also looked a promising creative source. One of the first chances of the game came from the midfielder’s ball out to Geyse, whose shot was pushed wide by Sophie Baggaley for a corner.  This proved typical of the opening period; though Brighton’s defence held out initially, they had very little of the ball and it was unsurprising when United opened the scoring within ten minutes.

Naalsund found herself in plenty of space to turn and feed the ball to Geyse, who piled on the pace to take the ball past Veatriki Sarri and Poppy Pattinson. The final ball, while not always the Brazilian’s strong point, was perfect here, with top scorer Nikita Parris unmarked and smashing the ball home from close range to put United ahead. 

The game continued in a similar fashion at first; United had plenty of time on the ball and there was little pressure on the United back line from Brighton, who didn’t progress far up the pitch. The BBC reported that 46.3% of action in the opening 15 minutes took place in Brighton’s third. Whenever United did lose the ball, they were quick to chase it down, and created a few more chances; a ball in from Katie Zelem was headed just over the bar by Maria Thorisdóttir, not far from ending up in her own net. The right hand side was United’s strongest area, with Geyse playing in Ella Toone on the edge of the box, but she sent the ball wide.

However, the Seagulls grew into the game as the half wore on; more pressure was exerted on United’s back line and top scorer Elisabeth Terland, who has bagged 9 of their 13 goals this campaign, had a couple of chances to level the scores. A beautifully weighted ball from Lee Geum-min set up her shot that was only kept out by an excellent Mary Earps save; the Norwegian had another effort saved from close range while United were a player down, waiting for Gemma Evans to replace an injured Jayde Rivière. United’s defensive shape was enough to hold out Brighton for the most part, though, and they had another flurry of chances before halftime: Naalsund had a shot blocked by Thorisdóttir, and Geyse once again drove down the right to set up Toone. But a clinical finish was lacking, and it remained 1-0 at the break.

The second half started quietly, the most interesting interruption in the first ten minutes a stoppage by referee Megan Wilson to remonstrate with Sarri and Pattinson. Neither side were able to create clear cut chances; Brighton enjoyed some more possession but their attempts to build were largely stifled by United’s defensive shape, with the Reds looking disciplined out of possession. Brighton’s frustration mounted, with Terland eventually receiving the first yellow card of the game for a foul on Katie Zelem in midfield. Lee followed her into the book not long later for dissent, and was replaced by Tatiana Pinto.

After 64 minutes United were suddenly able to double their lead: it came again from the right. Brighton's defence failed to close down Geyse 's progress down the wing and for the second time her ball into the box found Parris, whose assured finish sailed past Baggaley.

Parris’ brace was enough to seal the win, although she was denied a third goal by Thorisdóttir after a good run into the box. Marc Skinner made a few attacking changes and it looked at times as though they would extend United’s lead; Leah Galton came close to finishing off a cross from Hannah Blundell, and Sophie Baggaley saved a long-range effort from Irene Guerrero and a header from Melvine Malard. It was overall a fairly quiet second half; fans could be heard chanting ‘we want three’, but the Reds were unable to convert. Though possession was fairly even, Brighton had very few chances to speak of with only four shots, two of which were on target - both in the first half. 

It was a frustrating afternoon for Brighton, who moved the ball nicely at times but found their attacking threat was almost totally nullified. After West Ham’s shock win against Arsenal, they sit one place off the bottom. Interim boss Mikey Harris praised his side’s effort in pressing United and pointed out that they had only had one 60-minute session together ahead of the game.

“After the game I just said thank you, for trying to put into practice all the things that we’ve talked about and we’ve worked on.”

Speaking to MUTV after the game, Marc Skinner congratulated his side on a “professional” performance, highlighting Parris and Geyse’s attacking threat. United ultimately enjoyed a comfortable win, moving them within four points of the Champions League places - but with a difficult game approaching against Arsenal, they still face an uphill battle. The fitness of Jayde Rivière, who was forced off from injury in the first half after picking up knocks in several recent games, will also be a concern.

Brighton have only days to pull together before a Continental Cup quarter-final against Aston Villa on Wednesday, while United (who were controversially knocked out of the Conti Cup) will use this week to prepare for a visit to Southampton in the FA Cup on Sunday.