LONDON (Reuters) – England international Beth Mead scored twice in a dominant 4-0 win for Arsenal over Brighton & Hove Albion as the Women’s Super League got underway on Friday at a sold-out Meadow Park.
With last week’s fixtures postponed due to the death of Queen Elizabeth, the season was only seven minutes old when Brighton lost Emma Kullberg to a straight red card after she brought down Swedish striker Stina Blackstenius.
That made the task all the tougher for the visitors and Kim Little gave the Gunners the lead in the 28th minute, with Blackstenius getting on the scoresheet five minutes after the break thanks to an assist from Mead.
Mead, who finished England’s victorious Euro 2022 campaign as the tournament’s top scorer, netted in the 63rd and 83rd minutes to round off the win for Arsenal, who finished second behind champions Chelsea last season.
(Reporting by Philip O’Connor, editing by Ed Osmond)
