Liverpool defender Gilly Flaherty became the Women's Super League's record appearance holder following the Reds' 3-3 draw with Brighton on Sunday.
Flaherty arrived on Merseyside in the summmer after a four-year spell with West Ham, who she captained under Matt Beard. The centre-back started her career at Arsenal and was part of the squad that won a quadruple in the 2006–07 season.
In April 2011, Flaherty wrote her name into the history books when she scored the first goal of the WSL era, netting the winner away to Chelsea in front of more than 2,500 supporters. The 31-year-old made the switch to Emma Hayes' side in 2014, where she picked up a score of silverware, including Chelsea's first major trophy - the Women's FA Cup.
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Flaherty joined the Hammers in 2018 before reuniting with Beard at Liverpool ahead of the current WSL season. She's started all seven of the Reds' league games this term, and leapfrogged Everton and England legend Jill Scott to claim the appearance record with her 176th top-flight outing against Brighton.
Liverpool made the perfect start to the contest at the Broadfield Stadium; Missy Bo Kearns turning home a delightful Melissa Lawley cross to give the visitors the lead inside 17 minutes. Brighton weren't behind for long, with Elisabeth Terland's header levelling things up less than five minutes later.
The Seagulls extended their lead through goals from Danielle Carter and Katie Robinson, leaving Liverpool trailing 3-1 at the break, before subsitute Shanice van de Sanden pulled one back and subequently teed up Rachel Furness for her stoppage time equaliser.
After the game, the Liverpool boss hailed Flaherty's performance as "outstanding" and commended her for her record-breaking career.
“Gilly is a fantastic professional and this is an amazing achievement," Beard told Liverpoolfc.com. "She is a massive influence for us on and off the pitch and she’s inspirational.
“Here’s to many more appearances in the WSL for Gilly.”
Flaherty will have the opportunity to extend her impressive record when Liverpool travel to the Madejski Stadium to take on Reading in the WSL on Thursday evening. The Reds currently sit tenth in the table, a point above Kelly Chambers' side, and have picked up just one point since their opening day victory over Chelsea.
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