We were taken aback by an early Elisabeth Terland double during their rebirth under Brian Sorensen last term. At Walton Hall Park, the Norway international had given the Seagulls the lead in less than four minutes by heading in after Katie Robinson’s long-range attempt had bounced off the crossbar. Ten minutes later, he doubled the visitors’ lead by slotting past Emily Ramsey.
This was not the decisive comeback to Women’s Super League (WSL) action Everton had hoped for following an absurdly lengthy preseason. Furthermore, Sorensen and his staff must have been concerned by the depth of the Blues’ early slump, even though a little ring rust would have helped to some extent to offset their awful start.
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After Terland’s second goal, Everton responded rather well, with summer addition Martina Piemonte occasionally posing a threat to the Brighton defense and Nicoline Sorensen just missing the crossbar. But Megan Finnigan, the club captain, gave the Blues a genuine chance at success.
Everton’s poor start proved to be too much to overcome, even if the center-back’s cool finish in the 65th minute cut the lead in half. This weekend, they will go to Willie Kirk’s revitalized Leicester City team, so they will need to move past this setback as soon as possible.
After the game, manager Sorensen told the ECHO, “We started so slow in everything that we do, like reactions, preparations in terms of how we want to play, everybody was more like standing still so that is really disappointing.” “I have to assume responsibility for that and look for areas where we can improve.
“It involved not just two or three players, but every single one of them. Furthermore, we were too docile under duress.
Nevertheless, Everton could take some consolation. Five competitive debuts were possible on Sunday, with Piemonte displaying particularly encouraging signs. Only six months after giving birth to her first child, fellow striker Toni Duggan made her eagerly anticipated comeback to the field. Nico Sorensen appeared equally smart.
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