Chelsea Women 2-1 Liverpool
Chelsea are heading to Wembley for the Women's FA Cup final after edging past a gritty and determined Liverpool at Kingsmeadow.
The Reds scored first through the previous round's stand-out player Olivia Smith, a Canadian right-winger who has transformed Liverpool's season with her lightning sprints and marksmanship.
Though Chelsea dominated the play (16 corners to Liverpool's two), it was Smith's galloping break down the right and a well-crafted finish past Hannah Hampton which broke the deadlock after 21 minutes. Smith was so fast that she eluded Sandy Baltimore – no slouch herself – and Millie Bright on her rapid run.
But, midway through the five minutes of first-half stoppage time, the Blues levelled when Erin Cuthbert lobbed Rachael Laws.
Then Aggie Beever-Jones followed Cuthbert's overhead route by heading the winner in second-half stoppage time. Aggie had already tested Laws from close range in the 70th minute, but the keeper was able to make a good save.
As the eight minutes of extra time ticked away, Baltimore lofted a cross from the left, and the Blues' No33 was in prime position in the box to nod home beyond Laws' flailing arms.
After Manchester United defeated rivals City 2-0 in the other semi there was relief at Chelsea that they would not be facing Nick Cushing's team yet again at Wembley. It's not that they fear Man City - they're just fed up with facing them after the bizarre four-games-in-13-days spell.
So on Sunday 18 May, Chelsea will play United at Wembley, with each team being allocated 20,000 tickets. Oddly, it was the weekend that Chelsea were due to play United in the WSL anyway.
Sonia Bompastor was delighted with the win, and promptly gave her players two days off as the Blues' next game isn't until this Sunday in Barcelona.
"We stuck to our principles; we stayed strong," said the gaffer when asked about Chelsea's response to going behind in the semi. "I think, mentally, it was important to score and come back in the game just before half-time. Then we tried until the end and created a lot of opportunities."
Barcelona ahead
Quietly she was very relieved not to have to put her players through half an hour of extra time, giving them more chance to regroup and recuperate ahead of the tough challenge of two matches against Barcelona, interrupted by more league action against Crystal Palace.
A bonus for Chelsea was the return of super winger Guro Reiten after injury. She played a couple of minutes at the very end of the Liverpool match, but will be available for selection in the next few games, compensating for the loss of Lauren James to a hamstring tweak.
No timeframe has been put on LJ's return. Nor is there firm news yet about whether Sam Kerr will be able to make any appearances in the last weeks of the season.
Ticket discount for locals
The second leg of the Champions League semi-final at Stamford Bridge on 27 April sees another impressive 20% discount being offered to Hammersmith & Fulham residents who want to buy tickets. The rematch of last year's semi-final, it is expected to attract a sellout crowd.
Discounted tickets for local residents are available to buy here.
The views expressed in this blog are those of the author and unless specifically stated are not necessarily those of Hammersmith & Fulham Council.
