Brighton & Hove Albion (3) 0-0 (0)West Ham United
Continental Tyres League Cup, Broadfield Stadium, Wednesday 18 January, 7.30pm GMT
A point from a 0-0 draw with Brighton & Hove Albion Women was enough for West Ham United Women to book their place in the Continental Tyres League Cup quarter-finals.
Having beaten Birmingham City and London City Lionesses, the latter on penalties, in their opening two fixtures, the Hammers concluded their Conti Cup group stage with a goalless 90 minutes at Broadfield Stadium.
Izzy Atkinson came closest to a winner in normal time when she struck the post, before, even with qualification secured, a penalty shoot-out followed in Sussex.
Brighton may have taken the extra point, winning 3-0 on penalties, but it was the Irons who booked a spot in the last eight, qualification secured before the lottery of a shootout, which featured penalties at both ends of the pitch, had even begun.
While a goalless 90 minutes followed at Broadfield Stadium, both sides did everything to find the net.
An aggressive press from the Hammers almost worked wonders with two minutes barely on the clock. Viviane Asseyi won the ball after she intercepted a pass from Brighton defender Victoria Williams but struck narrowly over the bar from the edge of the area.
After Guro Bergsvand struck Brighton’s best chance past the right post and Kayleigh Green later flicked a cross wide of the Hammers’ net, the best chance of the first 45 minutes fell to Atkinson, who was inches away from her second goal in Claret and Blue.
The No11 started the move and found Evans, whose cross was only half-cleared and fell into the Irish forward’s path. Atkinson took her time to beat Megan Walsh but watched as the ball agonizingly struck the left post. It was the closest either side came to a winner throughout a tense 90 minutes.
Needing a point to progress into the last eight, the Hammers then sat deep as the second half started. Brighton pushed forward, as expected then, needing a win to progress, and peppered the West Ham area with Hawa Cissoko and Grace Fisk dealing with a hatful of crosses from the hosts.
But despite the Brighton pressure, it was Hammers who should have been ahead six minutes into the second half. A neat counter-attack saw Asseyi break beyond the Seagulls' backline but Walsh made a neat save to keep the game goalless.
Dagný Brynjarsdóttir, who replaced Atkinson just before the hour, then made a crucial block to deter a Brighton opener, before the skipper tested Walsh after good work from Mel Filis. Brynjarsdóttir later saw a goal-bound effort cleared off the line by a recovering Brighton defender, as the Hammers pushed for all three points.
Lisa Evans was next to trouble the Brighton defence but through on goal she fired over from inside the area, although the Irons did not need a goal and held on a secure qualification by the end of 90 minutes.
The Hammers are next in action in the Barclays Women’s Super League at Everton on Sunday 22 January.
Brighton & Hove Albion: Walsh, Fox, Visalli (Bance 83), Bergsvand, Lee (Pattinson 70), Zigiotti, Park, Green (Symonds 64), Williams (c), Morse, Robinson
Unused Subs: Startup (GK) , Jarvis, Ferguson, Lane, Mitchell
Booked: Morse
West Ham United: Arnold, Smith, Fisk, Cissoko (c), Shimizu, Longhurst, Hayashi (Houssein 89), Filis, Atkinson (Brynjarsdottir 54), Evans, Asseyi
Unused Subs: Hillyerd (GK), Cairns, Flannery
Booked: Atkinson 31, Asseyi 34, Longhurst 60
Attendance: 1,005
Referee: Kirsty Dowle
