‘It will be a scrap’ – Brighton boss Phillips expects a battle against Liverpool | OneFootball

Brighton & Hove Albion head coach Melissa Phillips expects this weekend’s Barclays Women’s Super League fixture at Liverpool to be a battle.

After securing a 3-1 victory over West Ham United in the FA Women’s Continental Tyres League Cup on Wednesday evening, The Seagulls travel to Merseyside on Sunday to take on a strong Liverpool outfit.

When speaking to the media, Brighton Hove & Albion boss Phillips said that she was pleased with her side’s latest performance.

“We were playing against another WSL opposition, albeit they rotated their squad,” Phillips said. “We moved the ball really well, had a lot of fluidity in possession, so it was nice to see some different things come off.”

Maisie Symonds returned to the Brighton & Hove Albion starting line-up in midweek and Phillips said that she has been impressed with the 20 year-old’s progress in recent months.

She said “Maisie has just been a fantastic part of this team, especially coming back off a really difficult year with illness and injury. I think she is an exciting young prospect.

“She’s just got her first call-up back to England Under-23s after being away from it last year and it’s very well deserved. It comes at a time where she’s really flying and she’s just progressed from strength-to-strength.

“Maisie wants to be a top player in the women’s game. I think when you have ambition like that, you don’t put a ceiling on yourself and it’s just about consistent growth and really pushing along towards that.”

Brighton Hove & Albion’s latest Barclays Women’s Super League opponents Liverpool currently occupy sixth position in the league table with 11 points. Phillips believes that her side are in for a battle on Merseyside.

“We know going into Liverpool this weekend that it will be a scrap,” Phillips said. “They’re physical, they’re a direct team that has a really strong identity both in and out of possession and they’ve got some really good results. We know we’ll have to bring the resilience and the robustness that we’ve had over the past few games but then equally, that calmness, composure and creativity that we saw on Wednesday night. We’ll bring both sides to put in a top performance at the weekend.”

Brighton & Hove Albion have faced difficult opposition in the Barclays Women’s Super League of late. Their last four league encounters have seen them face last season’s top four sides. Despite the difficult task, The Seagulls took four points from an available 12, something that Phillips reflected on positively.

She said “We’re really proud of the performances that we put in. We took away four points from those four games and arguably could’ve taken away more. There’s a lot to be proud of in the direction that we’re moving. We learn something new about ourselves every game, but that’s our objective.”

Brighton Hove & Albion’s Barclays Women’s Super League fixture at Liverpool takes place at Prenton Park at 2pm on Sunday afternoon.