Chelsea Women's dream of a first domestic treble evaporated at Goodison Park on Sunday lunchtime after Everton recovered from conceding a goal in the fourth minute to win 2-1.
The Blues are not used to losing, but a full-strength team was defeated... proving manager Emma Hayes' pre-season assertion that the standard of English women's football has risen across the board.
Being defeated in last season's delayed Women's FA Cup quarter-final isn't simply a case of shrugging and moving on to the next match.
Hayes has an enormous squad by the standards of many other women's teams, and she needs cup competitions to give all her players game time.
It's all very well having a team of superstars, but if they can't get to play a competitive match and are restricted to training, resentment can build.
Perhaps the problem at Goodison Park was Chelsea's colours. It was a weekend when both men and women tried out a bizarre third kit, ending up looking like fluorescent pink highlighter pens on legs.
Fans' demand for replica shirts and shorts in day-glo hi-vis is expected to be low.
Wearing the same new outfits, Chelsea's men went three down at West Brom, although they staged a spirited fightback to gain an unlikely draw.
The men host Palace this weekend, while the women travel to Birmingham in the league – the first of three crucial matches in the space of a week for Emma Hayes' highlighters.
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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