Brighton are going to Wembley for the first time after Nadine Noordam struck a 95th-minute winner to complete a comeback from two goals down and send them into the Women’s FA Cup final. The semi-final at Liverpool finished as a five-goal thriller, with Brighton overturning the deficit in one of the biggest wins in the club’s modern history.

The victory extends a remarkable run that has carried Brighton past West Ham, Arsenal and Liverpool in three consecutive top-flight rounds and leaves them unbeaten in seven games. Dario Vidosic, the head coach who arrived last summer talking about wanting to challenge the establishment and be the best of the best, called the performance a joy to watch. He said Brighton created so many chances, were calm on the ball, moved it around well and made Liverpool very, very tough to play against.

Brighton’s cup run began in January with a 2-0 home win over Nottingham Forest, then a WSL2 side, and has since turned into a statement about where the club believes it belongs. The women’s team had set out a bold vision in 2022 to become a top-four Women’s Super League club, and this season they are closing in on a club-high 29 points if they beat Tottenham on the final day on Saturday.

Fran Kirby’s return from injury at the end of February has added another layer to that surge, while Kiko Seike came back from the Asian Cup with Japan before Brighton hit this stretch of form. Kirby said the culture in the group has been incredible, describing a squad in which everyone wants to work for each other and do the graft. That sense of togetherness has helped Brighton not only chase a second consecutive top-half WSL finish, but also turn a club that once sounded ambitious into one that is now one match from a major final.

The tension in Brighton’s season is that the landmark comes before the bigger prize. Wembley is a first for the women’s side, but the club is also discussing a future purpose-built stadium and trying to translate progress on the pitch into something more lasting. For now, the record shows a team that began the season with a 2-0 win, stayed composed through setbacks and then found a 95th-minute finish when the road to the final demanded it most.