The Blues took the lead early on at Kingsmeadow when Sam Kerr headed home from a corner with only minutes played, however the Seagulls levelled the scoring moments later through a set-piece when Aileen Whelan directed her header beyond Carly Telford.Although Chelsea dominated the game for the most part, it turned out to be a tricky afternoon at our KT1 home as we tried to break down a Brighton side that defended resolutely.Hope Powell’s Albion notched another goal with around 10 minutes left through another rare set-piece and this time it was Megan Connolly’s corner that swung into the net.Hayes gave her assessment of the match following the full-time whistle and said: ‘Of course I’m disappointed to lose the game.‘The Man United result [they lost 2-0 to Reading] and our result serves as a reminder that if you’re not on it in this league, then you can be turned over and that previous results are totally irrelevant.‘Our intention, our intensity, our aggression were really poor. When you play in these games you have to take the game to the opponent and you have to work for spaces and you have to work for chances, you have to work to regain the ball and I don’t think we did that very well at all.‘We gave away two set-piece goals which I don’t think we have done in my whole time here so extremely poor goals. They’ve had three shots, two goals, we had 30 shots, one goal.‘It’s a reminder of the importance of how humble you have to be going into games and that if you don’t do the basics or fundamentals well enough that any team will turn you over and it’s proved it in this game.'

Although the loss will no doubt hurt, the Blues have little time to dwell as we have a London derby against Arsenal to look forward to. Hayes has made it clear that she is seeking a positive response from her players and expects to see a much better performance against the Gunners on Wednesday evening.‘I talk so much about the character in my dressing room, I talk so much about the resilience. Well now we have a chance to see that because it’s the response to the performances that coaches and players alike want to see.‘We have to reflect, we have to be calm about those things, everybody feels emotional after a defeat because we don’t get them that often but when they come, you have to be calm about it and put in place the right things so you rectify it.‘These games like Arsenal are really tough, they are even games and there is a lot at stake. I know the performance I’ll be looking for and I’ll demand that from my team.‘This is a setback but we are built to cope with the various competitions across the league and I keep reminding everyone that we’re in the Continental Cup final and we’re top of the league, we’re still in a good place and it’s important to stay positive about that.'Chelsea v Arsenal kicks off at 7pm on Wednesday at Kingsmeadow and the match will be available to watch on the FA Player.