Chelsea are back to within a point of rivals Arsenal following a 2-0 midweek victory at Kingsmeadow, with second-half sub Beth England on target, notching her 50th WSL goal.
Erin Cuthbert, neatly teed up by the unselfish Fran Kirby, added a second to complete the win on a bitterly cold Wednesday night.
Gaffer Emma Hayes felt the Blues deserved the victory (although she’s still baffled about the goalless draw at Brighton when Chelsea had the lion’s share of chances), and was delighted that England had scored.
“Beth’s response was great,” said Hayes, dissecting the goal which was a quick-thinking follow-up by England as keeper Anna Leat spilled a Cuthbert shot in the 51st minute.
Eight minutes from time Cuthbert got her own reward for bull-headed endeavour by rifling home a glorious goal.
Hayes said that having limited resources in recent weeks in terms of available players (Sam Kerr and Ji So-Yun are on Asian Cup duty, while Magda Eriksson is injured) had actually made her job easier, as she didn’t have to disappoint anyone when selecting teams.
Next up, it’s Groundhog Day! Chelsea Women’s imminent cup fixture is on 2 February, with tickets now on sale for the Blues’ Conti Cup semi-final against Man Utd at Kingsmeadow, 7pm.
Then it’s another cracker as Chelsea host Man City four days later, with a Sunday lunchtime kick-off.
The views expressed in this blog are those of the author and unless specifically stated are not necessarily those of Hammersmith & Fulham Council.
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