(Image: Pixabay)
(Image: Pixabay)
After a wobble on the opening day of the season, Chelsea Women have got their act together with a confident 3-0 away win at West Ham’s Victoria Road ground, writes Jane Grove.
The Blues, all in black, who began as favourites having beaten the Hammers 14 out of 16 times in the league, took the lead seven minutes before the break with the alert Sjoeke Nusken – a stand-out player in the early part of the season – disrupting West Ham’s attempt to play out from the back.
The ball fell to Melvine Malard, who made no mistake. Chelsea dominated the match, with 21 shots to the home side’s none.
But it wasn’t until after subs Lexi Potter, Aggie Beever-Jones, Alyssa Thompson and Katie McCabe came on in the second half that they turned the screw and made the game safe.
Read more
Death notices and funeral announcements from the Your Local Guardian
Full list of Southern trains cancelled this week as October begins
Keira Walsh, fed by the industrious Wieke Kaptein, fired home from the edge of the box to make it 2-0 before a Maika Hamano header added respectability at the end. It proved to be goalie Hannah Hampton’s 50th clean sheet in a Chelsea shirt.
The win followed the Blues’ creditable goalless draw against all-conquering Lyon in the Champions League; a thrilling end-to-end encounter in France in which the free-scoring French side were thwarted by resolute defending from Chelsea’s 'Bs': Veerle Buurman, Kadeisha Buchanan and Lucy Bronze.
“I feel like a draw at this stage of the season for both teams is probably not the worst thing,” said Bronze after the match. Our team worked our socks off, and I’m proud of every single one.”
Although it finished 0-0, Lyon came close to nicking a winner through sub Ada Hegerberg’s late header in the 90th minute.
It looked like it was going to loop over Hampton’s head, but the keeper managed to nudge it clear at full stretch. It was a big homecoming for Bompastor, two years after leaving the club where she had been player and manager, but her pleasure at containing a side which had scored 30 goals in the last four games was evident.
Next up for the women is the Stamford Bridge hosting of Spurs, who were walloped 5-1 by London City Lionesses at the weekend. The game is at noon on October 18.
Meanwhile, Chelsea’s men are back in action this weekend as Bournemouth travel to the Bridge on Saturday afternoon following the lengthy international break.