Arsenal made a surprise exit at the quarter-final stage of the Women’s FA Cup for the second successive season as Brighton stunned the record 14-time cup winners at Borehamwood.
The shock result extends Arsenal’s decade-long wait to lift the Women’s FA Cup, just four days after they knocked Chelsea out of the Champions League to reach a European semi-final. Dario Vidosic’s side stepped up and their former Chelsea forward Fran Kirby provided two assists to help Brighton secure a memorable 2-0 victory.
First Kirby slipped the ball through to Madison Haley, who swept a superb finish into the top corner from the right hand side of the penalty area in lethal style,making it 1-0 shortly after half-time.
Just over 15 minutes later, a deep Kirby corner was headed in at the far post by Caitlin Hayes to boost Brighton’s hopes of winning a first major piece of women’s football silverware.
The victory was no less than Brighton deserved on a day when Arsenal looked disjointed and perhaps a little fatigued after their midweek efforts. The north London side, who have not reached the FA Cup semi-finals since 2022 despite dominating this competition historically, opted to start with the England striker Alessia Russo on the bench alongside other stars such as Katie McCabe and Olivia Smith.
Arsenal were also knocked out in the quarter-finals on home turf last season against Liverpool. This season Liverpool were away from home in the last eight again, taking on the Women’s Super League 2 side Charlton Athletic in the 2.30pm BST kick-off.
