Manchester United Women's head coach Marc Skinner has singled out January signing Lea Schuller for special praise following the team's 1-1 draw with Brighton & Hove Albion—a result that all but ends their hopes of Champions League qualification next season.

Speaking to the club's website after the match, Skinner acknowledged the frustration of dropping points at a crucial stage of the campaign. "Brighton's game plan was to sit back and counter us, press high, and they got the goal from that press," he explained. "We are disappointed with the goal—we should be able to play simply out of that situation. It is what it is."

Despite the setback, the United boss praised his side's resilience, highlighting their never-say-die attitude that earned a dramatic 94th-minute equalizer. That goal came from Schuller, who has quickly made an impact since arriving in January. "Congratulations to Lea Schuller—if we serve her in the box, she will score goals," Skinner said. "We need to be better at that, we need to do better at serving her."

When asked about Brighton's defensive organization, Skinner chose to focus on his own team's shortcomings rather than the opposition's tactics. "Honestly, sometimes it is about the opponent, but today I don't think it was," he admitted. "It was about missing little bits of quality, little bits of incision—the right weight of pass at the right time. We need to supply quickly into that back line. We probably played backwards too much in the first half; we need to be more aggressive with the ball. A couple of times we were offside when we shouldn't have been. No excuses—we didn't take the three points, but the players showed resilience not to give up."

With just one match remaining in the season—a tough away fixture against Chelsea—Skinner knows his side must rise to the occasion. "Against Chelsea, everyone is accountable," he stated. "All of us need to stand up and give absolutely everything. That is key to beating teams like Chelsea."

In a heartwarming moment during the match, forward Leah Galton received a warm round of applause as she came on as a substitute for the final time at the Progress with Unity Stadium, marking the end of an era for the United stalwart. For a team that has shown fight but fallen short of their European ambitions, the focus now shifts to finishing the season on a high note against the league leaders.