(Football news) Having already defeated West Ham 4-2 in the Conti Cup last Wednesday, Chelsea faced the Hammers yet again in the Women’s Super League. Emma Hayes’ side made two changes from the draw against Brighton with Jess Carter and Drew Spence on the bench while Sophie Ingle and Niamh Charles were into the starting XI. West Ham made three changes from the team that defeated Everton 3-0 with Gilly Flaherty and Abbey-Leigh Stringer on the bench while Dany Brynjarsdottir didn’t feature due to illness. Emma Snerle and Melisa Filis were back in the starting lineup while Hawa Cissoko returned from suspension.
Despite the fact that this particular match did not feature as many goals as their last encounter, Chelsea Women dominated proceedings and managed to end their run of two games without a goal when Beth England scored from close range in the 51st minute, shortly after being introduced from the bench. Erin Cuthbert then scored the second of the night in the 82nd minute with a chipped finish, thereby securing all three points and reinstating Chelsea into second place in the Women’s Super League table, just one point behind league leaders Arsenal who will face Brighton later today and one point ahead of third place Manchester United.
The Blues had two fantastic opportunities to take the lead inside the first 15 minutes, the first one came when Anna Leat made a mess of a catch from Chelsea’s corner but Niamh Charles failed to find the target from close range. The second opportunity was denied by Leat who stopped Pernille Harder's header. Cuthbert played an integral role in providing opportunities for her teammates and almost found the back of the net when Fran Kirby found the Scottish international but Cuthbert failed to hit the target. West Ham had opportunities few and far between, the most notable coming when Aniek Nouwen's dangerous clearance hit Claudia Walker’s back but deflected off target, much to Chelsea’s relief.
West Ham’s Leat continued to keep her side in the game, making a decent save from a Chelsea corner and denying Harder who made a solo run and took a shot on goal. Six minutes after the break, Chelsea finally found a breakthrough through substitute Beth England. Cuthbert’s shot was initially denied by Leat but England capitalized on the rebound to score her 50th WSL goal. Despite the advantage, Emma Hayes’ side didn’t rest on their laurels and immediately pushed for a second, which eventually paid dividends in the 82nd minute when Kirby found some space and passed to Cuthbert whose floating finish went past Leat and into the back of the net.
The match ended with zero shots on target for West Ham and the Hammers failed to manage a single shot (on or off target) in the second half. The result meant that West Ham’s five match unbeaten run has now come to an end and the London based side are seventh on the table with 17 points. Chelsea will now travel to Aston Villa for the Women’s FA Cup fourth round on Saturday before facing Manchester United in the Conti Cup semi-final next Wednesday. They will then face Manchester City in the Women’s Super League. As for West Ham, they will travel to Sheffield United in the Women’s FA Cup match on Sunday and then visit Aston Villa for the WSL match on February 6th.
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