Chelsea FCW 3-1 Brighton & Hove Albion WFC, Women’s Super League: Post-match reaction

Chelsea Women really felt the League Cup loss against Arsenal at Selhurst Park, and recovery would have to come fast as we really needed to rebuild confidence moving into a tough March schedule. Luckily that is what the Blues did from kick-off, playing with the intensity despite the rain making the work cut out for them at Kingsmeadow.

Soon the Blues would be rewarded by their hard work. From the spot, Guro Reiten decided to go with a slotted shot and while goalkeeper Lydia Williams correctly guessed where the Norwegian would shoot, she was not fast enough to save it.

A lesson clearly learned from the previous match is that a 1-0 lead means nothing until the final whistle is blown. We kept pushing for a second score and eventually it came through Jess Carter, who made no mistake when she saw the ball fall in front of her from a corner kick.

Guro scored at the 11th minute, and Carter followed at the 21st. Jelena Cankovic almost made it so we got a third at the 31st, but her dink hit the crossbar instead.

Sam Kerr followed a minute later with a goal of her own but unfortunately she was offside. Chelsea would have to go to half-time with a two-goal lead over the second-last Women’s Super League team, hopefully hungry for more once they returned to the pitch.

What we saw instead was Brighton playing very aggressively and Chelsea doing their best to contain their impetus. Even though the Blues did struggle a bit to find their footing and keep the match stable, they would not need to worry too much about the scoreline as Kerr assisted Johanna Rytting Kaneryd for her first ever Chelsea goal, and our third of the night.

While Brighton did manage to eventually pull one back via Danielle Carter, the game was effectively over following Kaneryd’s score at the 71st (!) minute. Three points gained at Kingsmeadow, and back on the winning track we go!

Carefree!

• Zecira Musovic between the posts as Jess Carter, Maren Mjelde and Kadeisha Buchanan return to the starting lineup at the back. Melanie Leupolz and Jessie Fleming also get to start in midfield, with Johanna Rytting Kaneryd taking over the right wing from Lauren James today.
• Subs are Alsu Abdullina for Guro Reiten, Niamh Charles for Sam Kerr, Aimee Claypole for Melanie Leupolz, and Sophie Ingle for Millie Bright.
• Speaking of Claypole, it is a professional debut for the 17-year-old attacker!
• Chelsea doing what was expected of them in the first half, giving Brighton little to no chance of thinking they can surprise us.
• The second half was much more even than it should have been, considering this is Brighton. But a win is a win, nevertheless!
• Next up: Manchester United at home in the Women’s Super League.
• KTBFFH!