- Chelsea beats West Ham 2-0, retakes WSL lead over City
- Hayashi’s goal wrongly flagged offside, Chelsea withstands pressure
- Late Cuthbert goal seals victory, Chelsea maintains competition lead
Erin Cuthbert and Aggie Beever-Jones penalised a tenacious West Ham for their carelessness in the final third as Chelsea retook the Women’s Super League lead over Manchester City with a 2-0 victory.
The match was far from straightforward for the visiting Blues; in fact, it could have been an even more tense affair had Honoka Hayashi’s attempt not been wrongfully flagged offside within 15 minutes.
Tuesday night, in a comfortable 3-0 victory over Ajax, Emma Hayes substituted three players: Beever-Jones, Jelena Jankovic, at forward, Ashley Lawrence at right back, and Eve Perisset, Erin Cuthbert, and Guro Reiten at midfield. Additionally, Mayra Ramrez and Nathalie Bjorn, both of whom were declared fit to return to the bench, were welcomed back.
In the wake of last weekend’s 3-1 loss to Liverpool, Rehanne Skinner made two substitutions: Anouk Denton, a centre-back, and Jessica Ziu, a midfielder. Hawa Cissoko and Emma Snerle were relegated to the bench.
Chelsea’s attempt to complete March with six victories in six games (two remaining this month) got off to a fast start, but the reigning champions encountered opposition in more than just one direction. Instead of tying the game at five minutes, West Ham conceded a goal and fell behind a team that had prevailed in twelve of the previous twelve WSL meetings in which they had taken the lead.
Viviane Asseyi intercepted Riko Ueki’s corner kick in less than a minute, but the forward’s header sailed agonisingly wide. They were immediately penalised when Chelsea passed the ball to James on the left flank, who deflected it backwards into Beever-Jones’ path and converted.
After an impressive start, it was a bruising concession, and West Ham continued to look threatening; Kirsty Smith, an unmarked Scotland defender, met Ziu’s cross but missed the target from close range.
Hayashi scored in the fourteenth minute following a free-kick that was directed at her, but despite Lawrence playing her on, the flag was raised for offside.
Shortly after that, the home team suffered a further setback when Marika Bergman-Lundin replaced the influential midfielder Katrina Gorry due to injury. Despite this, West Ham continued to threaten, with Ueki slicing the ball past the crossbar on a run from the halfway line and Asseyi converting a pass from Hayashi.
The opponent was unblemished in their previous eleven WSL meetings with West Ham since 2018, including 10 victories and one draw against their London rivals. However, West Ham were not easily defeated at the Chigwell Construction Stadium.
Hayes introduced Ramírez and Fran Kirby shortly after the hour, and subsequent additions Cuthbert and Catarina Macario, in response to the Hammers’ perceived threat, which occurred in less than ten minutes.
The moment Ramírez entered the game, she immediately made an impact, pressuring and extending the West Ham back line. Shortly after coming on, the outstretched foot of goalkeeper Mackenzie Arnold denied her, and shortly after that, the ball trickled towards the far post and off the base.
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Although West Ham’s opportunities diminished due to Hayes’s relentless attack, they still managed to create one through Asseyi’s free-kick, which crept onto the roof of the net to equalise the score in the second half.
Cuthbert downed a corner kick by Macario, assisted Chelsea in extending their lead with two minutes of extra time remaining through a goal that he threw into the roof of the net.
Chelsea maintain their lead over Manchester City in all four competitions by a point difference. In contrast, West Ham failed to seize the opportunity to surpass Everton and maintain their position as the second-to-last team, their loss to the reigning champions illustrating the extremely competitive nature of the WSL.
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