Albion 1 Villa 1: Dominant display not rewarded for Ruiz's team

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Albion suffer late sucker punch at the Amex.

2026-09-20T16:25+01:00

Gabby George celebrates her first goal in a Brighton shirt. 📸 by Kyle Hemsley.

Despite a dominant performance at the Amex, Albion walked away with only a point on Sunday following late drama against Villa.

Both sides headed into Sunday’s game looking for their first WSL win of the season, but the points had to be shared after Gabby George’s 31st minute goal was cancelled out by Lynn Wilms' corner which found its way into the back of Albion's net in the 88th minute.

The two sides hadn’t faced each other since January and Arturo Ruiz's side were looking to bounce back from their last minute drama at Birmingham City last time out, and they certainly looked to be heading that way.

Albion made two changes to the side with George replacing Moeka Minami, to make her official WSL debut for the club, while Emily Murphy also made her first league start as she came in for Emilie Joramo.

Arturo Ruiz's team had 25 shots against Villa at the Amex. 📸 by Kyle Hemsley.

From the first whistle, Albion looked to be becoming more familiar with Ruiz’s new style of football, as the Seagulls’ put on a dominant opening display, controlling the lion’s share of possession in the opposition’s half.

Albion’s pressure was mounting and it wasn’t long until they found their first shot on target. A neat one-two between Caitlin Hayes and Kiko Seike on the right eventually found Madison Haley in the centre of the box, but the American's effort was denied by a last-ditch tackle.

In the 28th minute, great work from Seike and Fran Kirby in midfield then found Manuela Vanegas who was in acres of space and tried her luck from range. Her effort sailed over the bar.

Albion's pressure would finally tell. Lia Walti's corner found the head of Hayes, but saw her effort denied by goalkeeper Akane Okuma, before the ball ricocheted off the post. Debutant George was there for the rebound though, rifling the ball into the top corner.

Gabby George scored on her full WSL debut for Albion. 📸 by Kyle Hemsley.

Albion thought they’d doubled their lead with seven first half minutes remaining. Following a foul on Kirby on the edge of the area, Marisa Olislagers’ spectacular free-kick was saved by Okuma, getting down well to keep it from creeping inside the left post.

The Villans came out from the break looking for new ways to break down the Seagulls and started going more direct. A long ball over the top in search of Amalie Vangsgaard was stopped bravely by Chiamaka Nnadozie, who came a long way off her line to stop the forward in her tracks.

That didn’t stop Albion’s dominance though. With just over an hour played Haley found herself through on goal, as a long ball from Hayes fell into the path of the forward who controlled the ball well as she held off the defender, but her attempted volley cleared the crossbar.

It was hard to see how Albion hadn’t scored again as the chances kept coming all afternoon. Substitutes Jelena Cankovic and Olivia Garcia linked up well and the Serbian's through ball was played perfectly into the forward’s path, but Garcia’s shot was saved well.

Madison Haley fired over with the score at 1-0. 📸 by Kyle Hemsley.

Seemingly against all odds, a Villa corner from Lynn Wilms found its way to the back of the net, stunning the Amex crowd.

A late Cankovic chance from close went begging - Albion's 25th shot of the match to Villa's two - but despite the result, Ruiz will no doubt be content with the way in which his team dominated. The search for a first league win under the Spaniard continues though.