Albion’s forward players have licence to thrill – and cause problems at the Amex.
The Seagulls host West Ham in the WSL tomorrow (12.30pm) looking to bounce back from their first major disappointment under Dario Vidosic.
They went down 5-0 at Arsenal last Friday but will look to respond by extending a home record which currently reads ten points from four games.
Kiko Seike went closest to bringing them back into the game, at the Emirates with two fine efforts at 3-0 down.
The Japan international scored a hat-trick on the opening day against Everton but there was a difference this time.
The treble against the Toffees came from the right but she hit the bar and tested the keeper in North London with right-foot efforts cutting in off the left.
That suggests a versatile option for Vidosic, who also has forwards players such as Bruna, Madison Haley and Michelle Agyemang.
Asked whether Seike has a preferred side, Vidosic told The Argus: “I don’t think so.
“Sometimes we change things depending on the opponent, depending on who plays for us as well.
“We take a couple of things into consideration throughout the week.
“For players such as wingers, and good players, it sort of doesn’t matter.
“Left or the right. It’s a different threat.
“She has that ability to go on the outside, she can come inside and has a good shot.
“We try to balance that out throughout the week.
“Players are clear on their roles, clear on their understanding.
“That makes it easy when they come in regardless who it is, that pairing.
“If we isolate it, we talk about the left side or the right side, they all have that clear understanding.
“Sometimes it is a little bit different, depending on the player, whether it is Kiko or Bruna or Maddie or Michelle, each of them have their own special abilities, their characteristics that set them apart.
“We don’t want to put them all in the same bracket and say they will all operate the exact same.
“We tweak it a little bit to try and get the best out of those individuals.
“We will see again. We will assess what the best is.
“But they have always got the ability to switch throughout the game, change wings and give the opponent as many problems as they can.”
Albion were brave at Arsenal and will not abandon those principles just because of a bad night,.
But Vidosic again brought up the need to believe they belong among the upper reaches of the WSL.
It was something he touched on after their previous Amex date this season, when they came from behind to draw 1-1 with Manchester United.
He said: “We were obviously disappointed in the performance, the result and how we conceded the goals (at Arsenal).
“I think the girls probably don’t mind me saying this.
“It was similar to United in the first half, it was that sense of belonging.
“All the solutions, everything we spoke about, everything we worked on, the goals we conceded, we had worked on it, showed it, corrected mistakes throughout the week and we conceded.
“We didn’t play out at times when the simple options were on.
“It’s not easy. It’s a different pressure now, when you are towards the top, even though it’s nice.
“We are going to the Emirates and we are talking about we are going to press them high, we are going to play out, we are going to play our football when a lot of the girls, even probably Nikita and Fran at times, would go to the Emirates and sit in a little bit of a lower block and be patient and wait and try to hit on transition moments.
“We tested ourselves and we fell short but we will pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off and it will be a completely different game on Saturday.”
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