Brighton Women’s manager Dario Vidosic has confirmed that defender Maelys Mpome is “up and about” following a concussion sustained during the clash with Arsenal, which required extensive medical attention and caused a lengthy delay of over 10 minutes. Mpome was attempting to clear a cross when the ball struck her face directly, forcing her departure from the pitch on a stretcher. The Brighton centre-back received initial treatment on the field before being fitted with a neck brace and transferred to a stretcher.
A team of six medical staff assisted her exit whilst she wore an oxygen mask during what proved to be a deeply worrying incident. The interruption led to 13 additional minutes being played at the conclusion of the match, which the hosts secured, though the French defender was fortunately able to return home alongside her teammates.
Speaking to the Brighton website, Vidosic revealed: “She’s up and about and having a shower, which is very good news. She will continue to be assessed but fingers crossed she’s OK as it’s important for players to come off the pitch as healthy as when they stepped on it.”
On the injury, the Brighton boss also said: “It’s never nice to see your team-mate get hurt. Maybe that did play a part, fatigue as well. We tried to push everyone as much as we could in a safe way, but maybe it took the rhythm out of the game with the 10-minute pause.”
Arsenal’s triumph came courtesy of Olivia Smith’s first-half delivery being diverted into the goal after 16 minutes. The result propels them to fifth position in the WSL – thanks to three victories from their initial six fixtures.
The away side, however, trail by four points in seventh place. Vidosic acknowledged that worry over Mpome’s welfare might have affected her teammates as Brighton struggled to secure the leveller they desperately required.
Marisa Olislager’s first-half own goal proved to be the match-winner, with Arsenal goalkeeper Daphne van Domselaar successfully keeping the hosts at bay.
Arsenal manager Renee Slegers reflected on the performance: “I think we started well and we spent a lot of time in their half. We got the goal in the first half, I think the most important thing today was the three points.
“Of course, everyone knows that results haven’t come easy to us the last couple of games, so everything that we wanted today was three points and we got three points. I think there’s some good moments in the game and there’s some moments we can do better, want to do better, but most importantly, we won today and we got the three points.”