‘We stood up to a really good team’ – Brighton boss Vidošić reflects on draw with Manchester United | OneFootball

Brighton & Hove Albion head coach Dario Vidošić was pleased with how his players stood up to the challenge of Manchester United at the Amex Stadium on Saturday afternoon.

Forward Nikita Parris scored against her former club as Brighton & Hove Albion came from behind to record a 1-1 draw with The Red Devils in front of a club-record crowd of 8,369.

Speaking to the media after the match, Brighton & Hove Albion boss Vidošić acknowledged that his side started slowly but praised the players for growing into the game.

“I think it was probably a sense of belonging,” Vidošić said. “We knew that if we won, we’d go top of the WSL. We were playing against a very good opponent at the Amex, with a record crowd in attendance, so it was probably all that sort of built up. We seemed a little bit shy in the first half.

“The first 30 [minutes], we were probably lacking our ball speed, we were a bit slow, a bit hesitant. The distances were probably a bit too big as well, but then we started to get it together. We had a really good chance at the end [of the half] that could have been a goal. The keeper made a fantastic save, tipped it around the post.

“I think it was just the occasion and all of those things [why we started slowly], but it’s something that we’ll learn from.

“I think we’ll take a lot of belief out of this game, that was the biggest thing. When we came [back] out, we were aggressive, we were there on time. We were just a little bit late with everything, probably with and without the ball [in the first half]. Once we figured that out, we were very competitive and probably quite dominant in the second half.”

Vidošić praised his side for their hard work and acknowledged the positive start to the season, but says that Brighton & Hove Albion still want to be better.

He stated “We stood up to a really good team with a lot of good players. They threw a lot at us at times and we looked really solid. We didn’t give away too many chances, especially in that second half when we looked more like ourselves.

“They’ve had a fantastic start to the season but it’s still that we strive for improvement; we want to be better the next time we play and we want to try and play our best game.”

Goalkeeper Sophie Baggaley impressed again and Vidošić praised the player for showing bravery in her performance.

He said “She’s been awesome for us, she’s been really good. I’ve told her ‘be brave, take a higher line’. Today, she had a lot of crosses coming in, especially at the end when they had their last few set-pieces in dangerous areas. I just said ‘believe in yourself, come out, affect the play’; I’d rather that and if she gets it wrong, she does that rather than her just standing on the line.

“She’s taken it all in, she’s learning as well. She’s a very good keeper and when we’ve called upon her, she’s made some big saves. She’s been tremendous.”

Vidošić spoke about the impact of the club-record crowd of 8,369 and explained how the growth of The Seagulls’ fanbase could push for more games at the Amex Stadium.

He said “If the fans keep coming out and we start having to turn people away from Crawley, then we might have a case to say the demand is there and that people want to come and watch the team play.

“For us, what we can control is our performances, how we apply ourselves, how we train and then, we can put it all together and be entertaining. I thought today was an entertaining game, it was two teams constantly altering different things to try and get the upper hand. They had their spells of dominance and we had ours and I think it was a great advertisement for the WSL and especially for us. Hopefully, a lot of people went home happy and are looking in their calendars for when we’re playing next. We encourage everyone to keep coming and supporting us. We’re very thankful for the support to break the record and may we keep breaking records.”

Brighton & Hove Albion host Leicester City in their next Barclays Women’s Super League fixture at Broadfield Stadium on Sunday 3 November 2024.