Symonds: 'We want to keep pushing'

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Skipper won goal of the month but would love to score a few tap-ins to help maintain Albion's momentum.

2026-11-13T17:00+00:00

Maisie Symonds celebrates her brilliant goal against West Ham. Now she's hoping to score a few from close range. 📷Paul Hazlewood.

Maisie Symonds says her Albion teammates are excited to return to the Amex Stadium on Saturday as the Seagulls play host to Liverpool.

Albion bounced back from a narrow defeat to Tottenham Hotspur in the WSL on Sunday with a 3-1 victory over Watford in the Subway Players Cup on Wednesday.

Saturday’s fixture with the Reds is one that Symonds is looking forward to, especially on the back of the last meeting between the sides in which the Albion came from 2-0 down to win 3-2 in last season’s FA Cup semi-final.

“They [Liverpool] always have been a strong side,” she said. “And it's always a good game when we come up against them. [It] always feels like quite tight games. And obviously we had the iconic game against them taking us into the FA Cup final.”

“But even in that game itself, it was them going 2-0 up and being so dominant in the beginning of the game. They can definitely do that within a game and they're very, very comfortable on the ball under pressure.

“They play very well. So it's always a tight game and I think everyone's very much looking forward to playing under the lights at the Amex again.”

It’s been a brilliant start to the campaign for Symonds, who is starting to add goal contributions to her game.

Her stunning goal against West Ham - in which the Albion skipper exquisitely found the top corner from 25 yards - crowned her with the WSL Goal of the Month award for October.

Asked whether Symonds was looking at adding further goal contributions to her game, she said: “I'm always trying to score, but it never seems to happen. I definitely was thinking about it a lot more going into this season.

“I've always, over the last couple of years, had much more of a defensive role within the midfield. But something that I've been speaking to my coaches about is how I can add more, and have maybe more of an effect on the game, further up the pitch as well.

“Hopefully I can start to score a few more. Just tap-ins would be nice!”

Head coach Arturo Ruiz expressed his delight at his captain’s development. “Maisie's progress is very clear. We all know what she is capable of doing with consistency to balance the team,” he said.

“She is understanding much better what I want from her without the ball. With the ball, she is performing well, misplacing fewer passes, creating fluid situations, going in behind, and constantly occupying the free spaces.

“We are involving her more in every game, which is key for us. She is also getting into the box more often, which is important for our attacking control and second balls.

“We are developing her, and we are very happy to have her. She welcomes feedback and areas to improve, and I am enjoying coaching her so much.”

Ruiz’s side have won four of their previous five matches in all competitions, scoring 15 goals during that span.

Symonds feels that her team are just starting to gather momentum and get to a place they want to be after a transitional start to the season.

“In the last few games, we've been closer to what the manager wants from us and maybe closer to our potential, but still definitely not quite there yet.

“The nature of how things changed a week before the season and how much that shakes things up a little bit knocked us off our stride a bit at the beginning of the season.

“But I think now we're getting closer. And to be honest, you know, we're still not happy."