Albion begin League Cup campaign

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Dario Vidosic's side up against some familiar faces on Wednesday at St Andrew's.

Bruce Talbot

2024-10-02T06:00+01:00

Rachel McLauchlan made her Albion debut as a substitute against Manchester City and could get more game time against Birmingham City. 📷 Simon Davies.

Albion open their League Cup campaign on Wednesday night when they take on Championship side Birmingham City in the first of their group stage matches at St Andrew’s.

Although the Blues were relegated from the WSL in 2022 we have been familiar opponents over the years. This is the fourth year in a row we have played at St Andrew’s in the League Cup and there was also an FA Cup tie there two years ago, which Albion won.

The Brighton-Blues links are strong. Birmingham’s head coach Amy Merricks is a former Albion assistant head coach who had two spells in caretaker charge of the club while their director of football Hope Powell managed Albion for five years.

Last month Geummin Lee joined Birmingham after making 96 appearances and scoring 13 goals for the club. She scored twice on her debut in the recent win over Portsmouth.

It’s a quick turnaround for both teams. While Albion were losing 1-0 at Manchester City in the WSL on Sunday, Birmingham were being defeated for the first time this season when they went down 1-0 to Durham. They are currently third in the table with seven points from four games, having beaten Sunderland and Portsmouth and drawn with Bristol City.

View from the head coach

Head coach Dario Vidosic says there will be some squad rotation, with another WSL fixture to come next Saturday at home to Aston Villa.

“We have to give the girls who haven’t played in the first two games an opportunity but it will still be a team we think can win the game," he said.

“It’s a game we’re looking forward to, especially after a loss. It’s nice to have that chance to bounce back after a defeat and we’re looking forward to doing well in a new competition and a different challenge on Wednesday.”

Previous meetings

In 2021, a goal from Megan Connolly secured a 1-0 win at St Andrew’s but the following year Birmingham triumphed 3-2 despite goals from Lee and Danielle Carter. Last season Albion won 3-0 at St Andrew’s with Charlie Rule, Katie Robinson and Elisabeth Terland on target.

Elisabeth Terland scores Albion's third goal in last season's League Cup win at St Andrew's. 📷 Paul Hazlewood.

We also met in the quarter-finals of the FA Cup at St Andrew’s in March 2023 when Poppy Pattinson and Carter netted in a 2-0 win for Albion.

In Birmingham’s last season in the WSL the visitors triumphed in both fixtures. Albion won 5-0 at St Andrew’s but lost the home match 3-1.

Player to watch

Goalscoring midfielder Lucy Quinn is in her second spell at St Andrew’s and has made a sparkling start to the season with two goals and two assists so far. The 30-year-old started her career with six years at Portsmouth before joining Yeovil in 2017.

She scored twice in 29 games for Birmingham between 2017-19 before heading to Spurs. She returned to St Andrew's in 2021 and has now clocked up more than 100 appearances for the club. She made her Republic of Ireland debut in 2021 and has won 18 caps, scoring three goals.