Ruiz: I believe in my players

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Albion head coach reflects on draw.

2026-09-20T18:00+01:00

Ruiz looks on from the touchline. 📸 by Kyle Hemsley

Arturo Ruiz's side had to settle for a point against Aston Villa at the Amex Stadium on Sunday afternoon.

Just a week after his squad snatched a dramatic last-minute equaliser against Birmingham City, Villa inflicted the same fate on Albion to make it 1-1 right with full-time approaching.

Reflecting on the match, Ruiz expressed his disappointment at dropping two points after an otherwise strong display.

“We lost two points today, and we need to make the most of this learning," he said. “The performance of the team was absolutely incredible, but here in our stadium, in this kind of game, we cannot lose these two points. Let's be positive, we are still at the beginning.

“I prefer to make these kinds of mistakes in our third week rather than in our third month or sixth month, but this is high performance and we need to get three points 100% of the time that we play this game [the way we did]."

When asked about Villa's late equaliser, the Spaniard emphasised the need for better game management when holding onto a narrow lead.

“We need to control it. We need to know what attitude and behaviours we need to have in these moments when we cannot close the game [with another goal] - we know how to defend that situation and how to manage it."

Despite the late heartbreak, the head coach praised debutant Gabby George following her Player of the Match performance, while also commending the reaction of his squad in the dressing room at full-time.

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Arturo Ruiz's Albion side welcomed Aston Villa to the Amex Stadium for their WSL clash. Gabby George marked a memorable league debut by firing the Seagulls ahead in the first half, and Ruiz’s team looked dangerous throughout. However, Natalia Arroyo's Villa struck a late equaliser forcing Albion to settle for a point. Club photographer Kyle Hemsley was at the Amex to capture all the action.

"She played an incredible game, so I'm really happy for her on her debut with our team. She played an incredible game.

"We just spoke, and the faces and the reaction of the players were really good, so I cannot believe more in my players.

“We know that we've lost four points in the last two weeks, but I want to send a balanced message because we are just at the beginning of our project.

“We just need to go through it and learn it. I'm 100% sure this kind of experience will make us grow, but at the same time, they are not acceptable at any time."