Chelsea Women 4-2 Brighton & Hove Albion Women
The low winter sun shone straight into the face of the away keeper when Chelsea Women faced a determined Brighton side on Sunday lunchtime at Kingsmeadow.
So when Blues captain Millie Bright won the toss and opted to play towards the Kingston Road end, her teammates had been primed to send a few speculative high balls towards the dazzlingly lit Sophie Baggaley's goal.
Fran Kirby twice struck the crossbar as Baggaley blinked into the merciless light, but it was only in stoppage time in the first half that new German signing Sjoeke Nusken managed to score with a powerful header.
That levelled the game at 1-1 after the Seagulls had galloped away on the break for the dangerous Pauline Bremer to fire home after just 10 minutes.
But wily Emma Hayes shuffled the pack, took off defender Kadeisha Buchanan and put on Johanna Kaneryd at the break, and the Blues were again on the front foot.
Nusken shines
Nusken netted a second after Kaneryd's run had split the Brighton defence, then appeared to have scored a third after a flurry of Chelsea shots had been rebuffed.
The 22-year-old midfielder, signed from Eintracht Frankfurt in the summer, was presented with the match ball at the end in recognition of the hat-trick, even though it was technically marked down as a defender's own goal.
She was the stand-out performer, showing enterprise and spirit all game, though it was left to Aggie Beever-Jones to make it 4-1 and clinch the points.
Yet there was still time for a final twist.
Just as the fourth official was waving the display board to indicate five minutes of stoppage time, sub Elisabeth Terland slotted a consolation past Ann-Katrin Berger for 4-2, with the Blues goalie clearly blinded by the reappearance of the ferocious sun from behind a cloud as she'd spent the previous few moments shielding her eyes.
For some reason, keepers don't seem to wear peaked caps these days. But any visiting goalie would do well to pack one in her kitbag if she's minding the net at Kingsmeadow.
Nusken is a trained civil engineer, and it was undoubtedly her endeavour which provided the nuts and bolts of Chelsea's victory ahead of yet another international break.
"It was a wonderful performance from someone who has settled really, really well into the club," said a delighted Hayes. "We at Chelsea knew what a talent she was; you can see she wants to be front-footed; she wants to be up the park."
Nusken herself added: "I'm very happy to be here. The club is so cool. I like the team and I like the way we play football. There are a lot of games to come to improve myself. I'm a runner, I like tackling!
"Everyone is so kind. I feel very comfortable. My aim is to win titles and Chelsea is a good club for that."
Chelsea Women's next home game is another experimental match at Stamford Bridge, this time against Liverpool at lunchtime on Saturday 18 November.
Whether they achieve a higher turnout than the disappointing 14,000 that bowled up to watch Chelsea v Spurs remains to be seen.
The game is live on the BBC, and ticket prices have been slightly lowered (£12.50 adults, £7.50 kids and seniors) to try to entice the fans in.
Gunners escape
Meanwhile, Chelsea's men are kicking themselves for not taking advantage of a below-par Arsenal side at Stamford Bridge, allowing the Gunners to draw 2-2 after bossing three-quarters of an entertaining derby.
The men take on Brentford at the Bridge this weekend before a Carabao clash at home to Blackburn is followed by an expedition to north London to face Spurs. Mauricio Pochettino can expect a warm welcome from his old club!
The views expressed in this blog are those of the author and unless specifically stated are not necessarily those of Hammersmith & Fulham Council.
