Brighton must analyse poor home form says Harris after defeat to Aston Villa | OneFootball

Brighton & Hove Albion’s interim head coach Mikey Harris says that the club must conduct a review of their poor home form and ensure that it improves significantly next season.

The Seagulls ended their 2023/2024 home campaign with a 1-0 defeat to Aston Villa yesterday. Brighton & Hove Albion have lost eight of their 11 home games in this season’s Barclays Women’s Super League, picking up just five points from an available 33.

When speaking to the media after yesterday’s match, Brighton & Hove Albion boss Harris said that the club must conduct a full review into the poor home form with the aim of sparking a significant improvement next term.

“We really need to look at our home form,” Harris said. “We need to analyse it, look at the reasons why and then come up with a plan to ensure that when we come back here next season, we are a real force at home and we make it a fortress for us.”

Both Brighton & Hove Albion and Aston Villa had chances in the first half of the game. Madison Haley and Elisabeth Terland went close for The Seagulls while Rachel Daly and Alisha Lehmann fired narrowly wide for the visitors and Kirsty Hanson hit the bar. Brighton & Hove Albion were punished for not taking their opportunities when Lehmann struck the winner for Aston Villa in the second half.

Harris saw positives in his side’s performance but admitted that he was again frustrated with the result.

He said “You could see that the commitment and the character from the players was there.

“I thought that in the first half, our performance was really strong. We created some really good chances but in football, if you don’t take your chances when you’re on top, you always leave yourself open to conceding one goal. That then gives them something to defend.

“In the second half, we threw everything at them, we had some moments but again, we were unable to convert them.

“I’m feeling really deflated with the result but not the performance; I thought the identity was really clear, particularly in the first half. We will review the game as we always do and we will look to be stronger against Arsenal.”

Brighton & Hove Albion end the season with a fixture at Arsenal on Saturday 18 May 2024.