- Albion draw 0-0 with Arsenal, but win 4-2 on penalties
- Ini Umotong has an effort ruled out for offside in the first half
- Lea Le Garrec scores the decisive spot-kick, with Kayleigh Green, Dani Bowman and Maya Le Tissier also on target from the spot
- The Seagulls are next in action against Birmingham City at the Amex in two weeks’ time
Lea Le Garrec scored the decisive spot-kick at the end of a fantastic contest, where the Seagulls showed plenty of grit and determination against their illustrious opponents.
It was a very impressive display from Hope Powell’s side who more than held their own against a Gunners team that put four past them in a Barclays FA Women’s Super League match little over a month ago.
The result means the Seagulls will claim two points from the match, one for the draw and one for the shootout victory, which leaves Albion with five points from three games in Group B.
Powell made five changes to the side that was beaten 2-0 by Everton last Sunday, with Sophie Harris, Kirsty Barton, Ini Umotong, Amanda Nilden and Emily Simpkins all introduced to the starting line-up.
In her pre-match press conference, the Albion manager said that Arsenal were arguably the best team in the country at the moment, but her side gave the Gunners two early scares with chances for Le Garrec.
The French forward tried her luck with a long-range effort that just cleared the target, before she was played through on goal by Aileen Whelan and saw her angled attempt go just past the far post.
It was a first-half performance that showed plenty of promise, as Whelan and Umotong both saw their attempts saved by Pauline Peyraud-Magnin in the Arsenal goal.
In contrast, Joe Montemurro’s side were well below par, with their only chance in the first half hour coming through Beth Mead’s tame header that was easily saved by Harris.
Albion thought they had broken the deadlock with 44 minutes on the clock after Ellie Brazil’s cross from the right was met by Nilden, whose shot was blocked and Umotong slid in the rebound. But the linesman’s flag was raised, with the forward in an offside position.
But despite playing below their usual high standards, Arsenal arguably had the two best chances of the half, as Mead shot wide at the end of a sweeping move, while Jill Roord couldn’t find the target from Kim Little’s cut-back.
Mead was the main protagonist for the Gunners going forward, and she forced Harris into two saves at the start of the second half. The Seagulls shot-stopper made a smart stop at her near post from the England international’s free kick, before keeping out her close-range strike.
Mead continued her lively start to the half, and after being picked out by Little, she weaved through the Albion defence only to see her resulting shot superbly blocked by Maya Le Tissier.
This absorbing contest continued to enthral the 761 fans inside the stadium, as Le Garrec almost picked out Umotong in the box, and the latter appeared to injure her shoulder in trying to connect with the cross. Kayleigh Green entered the fray in place of the Nigeria international in a like-for-like change.
Somehow the game remained goalless moments later when Roord connected with a cross from the left with a diving header that cannoned off the crossbar.
Montemurro made a triple substitution for the visitors, which included the introduction of Lisa Evans, Danielle van de Donk and Vivianne Miedema.
It was Miedema who almost made an immediate impact after being picked out on the far side, but Harris was out of her goal to quickly thwart the forward before she could get a shot away.
With no goals to separate the teams after 90 minutes, the tie went to penalties, and Green, Le Tissier, Bowman and finally Le Garrec found the net from the spot to secure a stunning victory.
ALBION: Harris; Barton, Kerkdijk, Le Tissier, Gibbons; Simpkins, Le Garrec, A. Whelan (Bowman 77); Brazil, Umotong (Green 71), Nilden (Natkiel 46).
SUBS NOT USED: Walsh (GK), Lundorf, Williams, Connolly.
ATTENDANCE: 761