Brighton & Hove Albion stun Liverpool to reach Women's FA Cup final as 'awful' Fran Kirby admits 'the girls got me over the line'

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Fran Kirby paid tribute to her Brighton & Hove Albion team-mates as they dramatically came from 2-0 behind to beat Liverpool 3-2 and reach the Adobe Women's FA Cup final.

'The culture is incredible' - Kirby lauds Brighton team spirit after reaching FA Cup final

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Nadine Noordam scored a stoppage-time winner to send The Seagulls to Wembley, with the final on May 31 to be shown live on TNT Sports and HBO Max.

Kirby said she believed that in the first half, her performance personally was "awful" and "dragged the team down" - but the visitors fought back in superb fashion to claim victory.

"I was a bit worried in the first half, I'm not going to lie," Kirby told TNT Sports.

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"I thought we were struggling a lot. Me individually, I was awful. I think I dragged my team down today. I was really glad that the girls could help me get over the line.

"I'm really proud of everyone. It was incredible. Nadine played really well on Wednesday, and I'm really glad that she had her moment.

"Credit to Liverpool, I think they played really well in the first half. We were really sloppy in possession, myself included. We gave them two sloppy goals.

SCENES as Brighton score last minute winner to reach FA Cup final

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"I think overall we were really disappointed with the first half, but we knew we could go to another level.

"It was about being more aggressive. Everyone committing to the front press, everyone committing to going into duels. That went up another level.

"Also, be brave. I think second half we deserved that with the performance."

Asked what it meant to get through to the final, Kirby said: "The culture in the group is incredible, everyone wants to work for each other.

"It's one of the reasons we've had such a successful end to the season. The girls are great, it's just a really nice group of people."

'Incredible' to win it so late, says Vidosic

Brighton head coach Dario Vidosic said it was a "nice feeling" and "incredible" as Brighton claimed victory with virtually the last kick of the match.

"We knew that irrespective of what happens, that we just keep going until the final whistle," Vidosic said.

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"And it was always if we could just get one, if we could just settle into the game. I thought [in the] first half, maybe the nerves got a little bit the better us.

"We looked a little bit timid. We were a little bit late with the press. And then the second half, we fixed up a couple of things and they were a joy to watch.”

"It is a nice feeling when almost the last kick of the game hits the back of the net and sends us to Wembley. It's incredible."

Liverpool head coach Gareth Taylor was the picture of disappointment as he reflected on his team losing a lead and going down to defeat.

”We tried to stem the tide in the second half, but we still weren't effective enough in retaining possession. It became a little bit more direct, which is not what we're about," Taylor said.

”That just allowed Brighton to gain too much control and we ended up with too many set plays against us, and we look a bit vulnerable from them over the last few weeks, and it's ended up being our downfall.”

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