Arroyo reflects on Brighton draw

FixturesBrighton and Hove Albion Women Vs. Aston Villa Women - Sun, Sep 20 2026, 14:00Natalia Arroyo says that Aston Villa were not at their best against Brighton on Sunday afternoon, though she was pleased with the manner in which the team fought hard to claim another point away from home. The Villa head coach admitted that the side had a lot to learn from the south coast encounter which hosts Brighton controlled for the most part. However she praised the mentality her players showed to fend off further advances from the home side, before snatching a share of the spoils thanks to Lynn Wilms' stunning Olimpico goal in the 89th minute.Speaking to VillaTV post-match, Arroyo said: "It's hard to play Brighton. If we imagine what could be a good outcome from driving here, far to Brighton, accepting a point could be part of our possibilities because it's hard to come here. "How the game was, of course, we can't be satisfied with this point because we were so close to not even take one and giving them three. "We just need to accept that we were not at our best level, but we found our way of being competitive. "We were not really comfortable in big parts of the game, but we found our way to believe until the end, to find a good goal, and even almost a chance to be able to win."Sunday's draw was the second time in three games that Villa have come from behind to take a point this season, also besting a one-goal deficit to draw with Chelsea at Stamford Bridge on the opening day. "We are not starting well," Arroyo said. "We are conceding first, which puts you in a harder position to win games. "We need to try to fix this, but keep the ability of growing in intensity and feeling that we arrive fresher to the last minutes of the game. Arroyo added, "We were able to take a point against Chelsea, we were so close against City to draw against them. (There is) something positive to take from that. Try to put that in our heads, we can be strong until the last second of the game."Having been joint-top provider in the Women's Super League in 2025/26 with seven assists, full-back Wilms was on hand again to rescue Villa with a moment of brilliance in the final minutes. "We joke a little bit about how many assists or how many goals she could make us during the season,so it's good that she puts a first stick on her list," Arroyo added. "I think Lynn had a couple of actions where probably she was not happy, she was a bit frustrated in some duels. But (the fact) that she finds a way of cleaning her head and finding a good kick, of course, is positive."Arroyo finished by thanking the loyal Villa fans, who came to Brighton in big numbers once more to cheer on the side. "It's a really big journey, so thank you.Thank you for the energy and for the support. "I don't know if they were the ones blowing a little bit to try to find the curve of the goal, but definitely they were energetic, we needed them. "It's my responsibility to give them a better performance, so that next time they can celebrate three points and not just one." Watch Natalia's full post-match interview with VillaTV below...