Chelsea Women 3-1 West Ham United Women
Chelsea have home advantage against Crystal Palace in the draw for the 5th Round of the Women's FA Cup after coming from behind to defeat West Ham at the weekend.
On paper it's a very good outcome for the Blues. The Eagles sit fourth in the Championship, so Chelsea have avoided big guns including City, United, Arsenal and Liverpool. The fact that Arsenal face Man City in the next round (with matches played on 10 and 11 February) is a further bonus for the holders.
Despite missing long-term injured Sam Kerr, captain Millie Bright and the suspended Niamh Charles, Chelsea overcame a gritty, determined West Ham in the 4th Round at Kingsmeadow, where the low winter sun was an issue for the keepers.
The Irons took the lead on the break after 18 minutes, with a huge upfield hoof by keeper Mackenzie Arnold sending Viviane Asseyi skipping through to score the pick of the goals – a stunning volley past Zecira Musovic.
It wasn't until 50 minutes later that sub Mia Fishel finally levelled with a pirouetting turn-and-shoot to force extra time. Erin Cuthbert, proudly wearing the captain's armband after Sophie Ingle had been substituted, launched herself skywards to nod home one goal, with Aggie Beever-Jones adding another seconds after coming on to replace Lauren James.
More encouragingly, Chelsea Women resumed playing after their winter break, beating West Ham 3-1 at Kingsmeadow, but only after extra time as the Irons were holding the Blues to 1-1 after 90 minutes.
"I thought we lacked a bit of leadership in the first half," said manager Emma Hayes. "Erin was the leader; I thought she was the player of the match today – absolutely brilliant."
Cuthbert said she'd been chuffed to have been handed the armband for the second half, but admitted the team was already missing Kerr's goal threat after the Aussie was ruled out for the rest of the season with ligament damage.
"We're going to need everyone in the squad to chip in with some goals," said Cuthbert. "But at the end of the day we have players who are able to step into her shoes."
The first test is this Sunday when the Blues face Man Utd in the Women's Super League at Stamford Bridge, a match that's live on the BBC.
Although Chelsea haven't lost in the league to United, the Red Devils are unbeaten in their last eight away games. It should be a real cruncher.
Chelsea men
Chelsea's men are not in action this weekend, although three league wins on the trot suggests the team are on a roll.
Instead, it's the two domestic cups that dominate the coming week for Mauricio Pochettino's men, starting with the second leg of the League Cup clash with Boro on Tuesday night at the Bridge.
The Blues need more accuracy in front of goal if they are to reverse the 1-0 defeat at the Riverside.
Three nights later it's Chelsea v Aston Villa in the 4th Round of the FA Cup at the Bridge; a rare Friday nighter with Villa bringing 6,500 fans to create a boisterous atmosphere at the Shed end.
The Blues' 1-0 Premier League defeat of Fulham at the Bridge was a rather tepid affair, settled by Cole Palmer's cool penalty after Raheem Sterling was tripped in the box. But it did briefly move Chelsea up to giddy heights of eighth place in the table.
The views expressed in this blog are those of the author and unless specifically stated are not necessarily those of Hammersmith & Fulham Council.
