Dean spot on again to sink Albion

Rianna Dean's second-half penalty saw Spurs Women claim a 1-0 victory against a Brighton & Hove Albion side that had to compete for an hour with 10 players on Sunday.

Following the first-half dismissal of Lea Le Garrec for a second yellow card in the space of six minutes, we stayed patient in our bid to find a way through and ultimately got the opportunity we needed with a spot-kick after Angela Addison was brought down by Kirsty Barton.

Dean stepped up to convert her fourth penalty and sixth goal in our last four games and, aside from a good chance for Kayleigh Green, we saw out the match comfortably to secure our first away win in five in the Barclays FA Women's Super League and move up to sixth in the table.

Head Coaches Karen Hills and Juan Amoros made three changes from our last league outing against Everton as Lucia Leon - a goalscorer in Monday's comprehensive FA Cup win at Coventry United - came in for her first WSL start, joining Siri Worm and Addison in the side in place of the suspended Rosella Ayane, injured Emma Mitchell and Chloe Peplow, who dropped to the bench. Kit Graham featured as a second-half substitute, having missed the Everton and Coventry games through illness.

In a physically-demanding contest at the People's Pension Stadium in Crawley, Le Garrec pounced on an early loose pass from right-back Ashleigh Neville but we closed ranks to prevent her from opening the scoring, with Neville going on to play a key role in our attacking endeavours at the other end. Frequently pushing on down the right flank, she stole possession in Brighton's area but fired off-target with a left-footed shot from the angle, then sent in a dangerous cross which Dean couldn't quite convert from six yards out.

Fern Whelan's shot-on-the-turn floated across goal and wide for Brighton before the hosts were reduced to 10 players just beyond the half-hour mark when Le Garrec collected her second yellow card in short order after a clash with Josie Green. The hosts still carried a threat and Becky Spencer had to make a smart save down to her right to keep out Whelan's shot from distance, but we stuck to our attacking principles and crafted another well-worked move in first-half stoppage time, Neville again crossing for Dean, but Brighton stopper Megan Walsh claimed it just ahead of our centre-forward.

Walsh was there again after the break to gather Ria Percival's long-range effort before Addison was brought down in the box by Barton and Dean sent the goalkeeper the wrong way from 12 yards to fire us into a 67th-minute lead.

Brighton refused to fade and when Barton's free-kick was guided on into the box by Victoria Williams, striker Green found herself with a great chance to equalise, but couldn't turn the ball on target. A subsequent cross from close to the byline on the right bounced off the top of the crossbar but in general we managed the remainder of the game well. Graham latched onto a miscued clearance from Walsh within 40 seconds of her introduction but fired straight at the Brighton custodian, while midfielder Green shot wide shortly afterwards as a second goal eluded us. Nevertheless, we'd done enough to complete a league double over Albion in our final match before the international break.

We return to action in three weeks’ time with an FA Cup quarter-final trip to Arsenal, who beat Lewes in the fifth round on Sunday.

Coach’s view

Head Coach Juan Amoros said: “It was a solid performance and one that we can be very proud of. Brighton worked hard but I think we dominated possession. I know we could have created more chances, but the main thing is that I cannot recall any from their side. The performance is credit to the whole team.

“We were very proud of Lucia (Leon) today on her first WSL start. She created a lot of trouble in her position and we are very happy for her because she has been with us, developing, for seven or so seasons. Karen, myself and all the girls were buzzing for her because she's worked really hard in training.”

Match data

Goal: Spurs - Dean 67 (pen).

Yellow cards: Brighton - Kerkdijk 16, Le Garrec 25, 31, Bowman 85.

Red card: Brighton - Le Garrec 31.

Referee: Louise Sanders.

Venue: People's Pension Stadium, Crawley.

Weather: Light cloud, moderate breeze, 13 degrees.

Attendance: 964.