Brighton Women prepare for FA Cup quarter-final tie with Birmingham

Albion face Championship outfit Birmingham at the Broadfield Stadium on Sunday, March 19, looking to put their poor form league behind them and move one step closer to Wembley.

The Seagulls have endured a dreadful league campaign so far, winning just two of their thirteen games, under the stewardship of three different head coaches – Hope Powell, Jens Scheuer and Merricks – sitting one place and one point above the drop zone.

Interim boss Merricks said she was ‘extremely proud’ of the players after the lost 2-1 in the 89th minute to Manchester City in their last game, calling it a turning point in their season.

Merricks said: “We were gutted to concede in the final minutes like that. I think the performance warranted at least one point, if not more. We were so satisfied with the performance they put on. I said straight after the game it would be a turning point for ourselves.

“I think we have some momentum with the performance. We are moving in the right direction. We have set a bar on our performance. We want to push that even higher. So, gutting in the last minutes, but we have competed with the best in the league. It shows we are capable, no matter who we are facing.”

Interim boss Merricks was a part of the coaching staff that made it semi-final in 2021 – losing 3-0 to eventual runners-up Arsenal.

Their opponents on Sunday were relegated from the Women’s Super League last season. The Blues, currently managed by former Birmingham and West Bromwich Albion midfielder Darren Carter, are sitting fourth in the Championship, 13 points off high-flyers Bristol City in first place.

Despite being below Brighton in the women’s footballing pyramid, Birmingham defeated Brighton earlier in the season, beating them 3-2 in the League Cup.

HAVE YOU READ THIS?

Roberto De Zerbi announces who will start in goal for Grimsby FA Cup tie

Roberto De Zerbi provides Tariq Lamptey injury update ahead of Grimsby Town clash

Brighton owner Tony Bloom's Belgian club discover quarter-final and potential semi-final fate

Because of this, Merricks is not taking Birmingham lightly, pointing to the high number of players on their books with WSL experience.

Merricks said: “I think it would be amazing to get to a semi-final again. There’s no doubt it is going to be a challenging game. They are a good side with plenty of players with WSL experience. We have to focus on maintaining the bar we set against Man City and push it even higher.

"I love the FA Cup. It’s a great competition to be in. We want to go as far as we can.”

Brighton have never made it to an FA Cup final before, losing their only semi-final appearance in 2020, in a 3-0 defeat to Arsenal.