Brighton and Hove Albion 0-1 West Ham United
A solitary strike from substitute Zoe Marshall was enough to get West Ham United off to a winning start in the new FA Women's Premier League Southern Division season.
Academy product Marshall kept her cool to drill the ball into the net in the 85th minute and send Tony Marshall's team home from the south coast on a high. The chance came about after Jess Barling's corner was only half-cleared and Marshall showed all of the prowess that she has demonstrated since captaining the club's girls' side for three seasons. A delighted manager said: "Zoe took her goal with real maturity and great technique."
The squad had travelled with 13 new players but there was no lack of cohesion in the opening stages as the visitors took control. Dani Hoy and Natalie Grafton had some good opportunities. At the other end, Brighton were restricted to the occasional counterattack but found Paris Smith resolute in goal, with the impressive Jade Dempster also playing her part in defence.
It was a similar story after the break with Dempster trying her luck from distance among a series of notable chances. The key moment came when Marshall replaced Tracey Duxbury for the last half-hour at the Withdean Stadium. It was all West Ham United and the only surprise was that the winner took so long to arrive. When the chance presented itself, after one of several second-half corners, Marshall was to make no mistake.