With relegation back, the basement battle is fierce and Yeovil, part-crowdfunded, hope to defy the odds against clubs with Premier League backing

It has been two years since relegation from the Women’s Super League was determined by results. Now it is back. The rejigged professional top tier and semi-professional second tier will look to rebalance, with two teams promoted, pending meeting the tier one licensing criteria, and one relegated into the Championship. The top flight will grow to 12 teams while the Championship will be reduced to 10.

Teams now have the threat of the drop and its financial implications hanging over them again. And Yeovil, for the first time since their promotion as tier two winners in 2016, having not won a game in the WSL are in the hot seat, rooted to the bottom of the table.

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This time, though, they are not as isolated. Brighton and West Ham, having successfully bid for WSL licences, have invested heavily and made the leap up, from the second and third tiers of the women’s football pyramid respectively, while Everton, promoted into the top flight before the 2017-18 season after the collapse of Notts County, have struggled to find a footing.

It means that, while Arsenal may seemingly be running away with the league at the top, the situation is much tighter at the bottom. In women’s football every point matters more with fewer games in the league season. So, when 10th-placed Brighton welcomed Yeovil to Broadfield on Sunday, both had a golden opportunity to get off the mark and pull clear of the single relegation spot.

In the event it was a little disappointing that Yeovil’s first-half performance was so lacking in the structured play, orchestrated by the former Millwall manager Lee Burch, that has taken them close to their first WSL win in recent weeks. Last season they struggled to score, let alone rack up points, hitting the net twice in the entire campaign for surprise draws with Arsenal and Birmingham while conceding 54 times.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Victoria Williams, left, celebrates after scoring Brighton’s second goal against Yeovil. Photograph: Alan Crowhurst/Getty Images

This year things are different and in their three matches before this weekend’s– against West Ham, Liverpool and Bristol City – they had come from behind to level the scores only to be denied late in each match.

Against Brighton they gave themselves too much to do. Two goals, the first on the break from Jodie Brett, the second bundled in by Victoria Williams after they failed to clear a corner, meant the team went in at the break with a bigger gap to close.

Though they came out a different team, Ellie Mason’s rebound strike, powered into the net beneath a bold rainbow against a dark grey sky after Marie Hourihan saved her penalty, was not enough.

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“I’ve never been involved, as a player, as a manager, as a coach, in four equal scorelines before,” said Burch. “It’s hard to take, it’s Groundhog Day. Second half you saw what we’re about. We made a few tactical changes which hopefully helped but it was a case of just a bit too much of a mountain to climb this week.”

The progress is evident, though. Mason described the repeat losses as “hard to take” but pointed to the positives: “We’ve scored in most of our games now. Our scoring is giving us confidence because we know we can push on in games, we know we can come from behind. It gives us belief and confidence.”

The FA Women's Super League (@FAWSL) Fair to say @OfficialBHAFC’s Laura Rafferty and Jodie Brett enjoyed their first #FAWSL victory of the season...



Wait for Hope Powell at the end 🙌 pic.twitter.com/TNUpQhikgp

On Sunday they have another good chance to get off the mark as the only other side yet to win, Everton, travel to the Avenue stadium.

For Brighton, the skies are a little brighter. The Seagulls’ first three -point haul, added to one from a 3-3 draw with Everton, takes them above the latter into ninth place.

“We’re really pleased with the three points,” said the former England manager Hope Powell. “It’s massive. We knew that this would be a pretty close contest. This just gives us a little bit of life. Hopefully it will give us some momentum. We’re under no illusions. It’s tough.”

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Brighton now have time to breathe, they do not welcome Reading until 18 November. Three points adrift of West Ham, who play Chelsea on Sunday, they may well have an opportunity to climb higher.

“Every game will be about fighting for it, Powell said. “We have to be resilient. This is the first season for us at this level. We know what we’re up against it. It’s been a real test. There’s more to do but the good thing about this squad is they’re prepared to do it.”

The problem for Yeovil is that, although they are improving, they are unable to compete with the financial might of Premier League backed sides. Brighton, Everton and West Ham will undoubtedly continue to invest in their women’s team at a rate that the Lady Glovers, who had to part crowdfund their bid to stay in the top division, just cannot compete with. If they do manage to defy the odds and stay up, the task will only get harder as their nearest rivals become more settled and strengthened.

Talking points

• Glasgow City have overcome the pain of their Scottish Women’s Cup exit and a 5-0 first-leg Champions League loss to Barcelona, to lift the SWPL title on the last day of the season. Having beaten their nearest rivals Hibernian 2-1 to give themselves a three-point cushion, a 4-2 victory against Spartans FC confirmed their 12th league title.

• Sweden’s Piteå IF were crowned champions of the Damallsvenskan following a 6-1 win over Växjö. The shock win sees the northern Sweden part-timers qualify for the Champions League, alongside second-placed Göteborg, who finished 10th the previous season. The former champions Linköping finished fifth, while FC Rosengård finished outside the UWCL places in third thanks to a 4-2 loss at Göteborg.

• Phil Neville has named his England squad for the forthcoming internationals, with uncapped Manchester City duo Georgia Stanway and goalkeeper Ellie Roebuck named alongside Brisbane Roar forward Chioma Ubogagu.

Lionesses (@Lionesses) Meet the #Lionesses who'll take on 🇦🇹 & 🇸🇪 this November.



See them for the last time this year at @OfficialRUFC. Tixx are going fast! https://t.co/3MljeGuUsO pic.twitter.com/F3USjnMbKC

• Following the surprise resignation of Neil Redfearn, Liverpool have appointed their former development squad manager Vicky Jepson as manager of the senior side. Jepson and Chris Kirkland had taken joint interim charge following Redfearn’s departure in September.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Grace Fisk, in action here for England’s Under-20s, has been named Southeastern Conference defensive player of the year in the US. Photograph: Catherine Ivill/FIFA via Getty Images

• England Under-20 women’s World Cup bronze medallist Grace Fisk, who plays in the US for the University of South Carolina’s women’s team the Gamecocks, has been named Southeastern Conference defensive player of the year, for the second time. Fisk contributed to nine clean sheets.

• Fifa have announced a doubling of prize money for the 2019 Women’s World Cup from $15m to $30m. A further $20m will be split between funding for pre-tournament preparations and reimbursing clubs for the participation of their players.