History makers Brighton are shaking up old order and not hiding ambition

Madison Haley is among the Brighton forwards who have excelled in recent weeks. Photograph: Andrew Matthews/PA

They are also doing it with a playing style pleasing on the eye. Vidosic was almost purring when asked whether Sunday’s second-half display was emblematic of the way he wants his team to play. “It was a joy to watch,” he said. “We created so many chances. We were dominant, we were calm on the ball, we were moving it around and we made it very, very tough for Liverpool.”

Few could dispute that Brighton are worthy finalists. They have won at top-flight sides in three consecutive rounds, beating West Ham, Arsenal and Liverpool, after beginning with a 2-0 home victory over the WSL2 side Nottingham Forest in January’s fourth round. Vidosic provided an insight into his mindset during Sunday’s post-match press conference, because rather than waxing lyrical about reaching the final, he was focused on two things: trying to win the trophy and Saturday’s WSL final day, where his team will record the club’s highest points tally of 29 if they beat Tottenham.

“It’s a huge achievement,” he said of reaching the final. “It’s important that we celebrate it, so I’ll encourage the girls and the staff on the way home – but I’ll probably be somewhere watching the game back, seeing how we can improve, because we still have something really important coming up on the weekend. We still have a chance to have our best-ever season. And since I’ve come in we’ve always spoken about ‘history’. We want to be historic as a team. Last season’s team was able to write their name in [Brighton] history the [club’s] best ever, in terms of points tally. Now this team has started to write its own history and now we’ve got two very important games where we could really put out names there for ever.”

Brighton’s head coach, Dario Vidosic, has been challenging his players to make history. Photograph: Bryn Lennon/Getty Images

The final on 31 May will be a special day for the entire club. Brighton’s men’s only FA Cup final appearance came in 1983, before a generation of their supporters were born, and neither of the first teams have won a major trophy. When Brighton’s women’s team were founded in the late 1960s, the squad was almost entirely made up of telephonists – switchboard operators who could connect callers to their requested phone line. Were they operating today there would surely be only one connection requested: the ticket office, as fans get excited about their trip to Wembley and a chance to see the next chapter in this promising journey.

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