(Football news) Reigning champions Chelsea fought back to defeat West Ham 3-1 in the Women’s Super League at the Kingsmeadow Stadium. The Blues were defeated by Liverpool on the opening weekend but have since recorded back to back wins to get their title defence underway. The Hammers took the lead in the third minute through Dagny Brynjarsdottir but Chelsea’s Fran Kirby equalised in the 40th minute before Sam Kerr (58) and Millie Bright (62) helped the hosts secure victory.

Chelsea’s Lauren James saw her penalty saved in the second half but the win lifted Chelsea into fourth spot of the league table while West Ham dropped to ninth after their second straight defeat. The fixture was initially scheduled for September 11 but was rearranged due to the passing of Queen Elizabeth II. Chelsea manager Emma Hayes handed Katerina Svitkova and Eve Perisset their full debuts while Lauren James was on the bench. Izzy Atkinson, who made an impressive debut against Manchester United started on the bench for West Ham while Emma Snerle was also included in the squad.

Speaking after the match, Chelsea manager Emma Hayes said “The side showed a great reaction to conceding an early goal and the scoreline could have been bigger. I feel we're improving and progressing from the Man City game – we grew in confidence. It's so tough for new signings to learn quickly but I'm really happy for Svitkova and Perisset who made their full debuts tonight. Beth England was omitted from the England squad but she's shown a tremendous attitude. The current international calendar makes no sense – they absolutely have to be looked at and it's right they are. It's not right for player welfare. I can't fault the application of players – it's such a nice dressing room that's growing in confidence. The team are where they should be after three games but there's still some rust." 

West Ham boss Paul Konchesky said “You know Chelsea's attacking power that they've got. We spoke about it before the game. I thought Fran Kirby's goal was a little bit fluky if I'm honest, and then (conceding) two set plays which is very disappointing on our behalf. The set plays (we conceded from) were unnecessary from us, I'm disappointed in them. Obviously the goalkeeper saved a penalty as well. Overall it's tough to take but we're playing Chelsea and maybe we have to take that today. It's been quite a tough two weeks – three games in two weeks. I'll try and freshen the squad up for the weekend to give a few players a rest before they go on international duty. I'm looking forward to the cup game and hoping we can get a cup run too." 

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