WSL roundup
A wondergoal from the Sweden international Magda Eriksson against Liverpool handed reigning WSL champions Chelsea their second win of the season and moved them up to fourth. Erin Cuthbert’s corner, headed back across goal by Drew Spence, was poked high by Eriksson who waited and watched, time seemingly standing still, before powering a thunderous overhead kick into the top corner.
Arsenal took full advantage of Manchester City’s dropped points on Friday night to tighten their grip on WSL top spot with a convincing 4-0 win at Bristol City. First half goals from Jordan Nobbs and Viv Miedema pushed the Gunners three points clear of their nearest rivals - who drew 1-1 with Reading - and Joe Montemurro’s dynamic side have a game in hand over the sky blues.
If the title fight looks like Arsenal are in a different weight class, at the bottom of the league thing are much tighter. Brighton and Yeovil met at Broadfield with both desperate to secure a first WSL win.
The Lady Glovers, who have not won in the top tier since they secured promotion in 2016, were undone in the first half. Goals from Jodie Brett and Victoria Williams gave Brighton the deserved lead. In the second half Yeovil upped their game, putting in a performance more akin to those that have seen them lose narrowly, and somewhat crushingly, 2-1 in their previous three league ties. Ellie Mason’s rebound after Marie Hourihan saved her spot kick, stretching that run of matching results to four.
The win for Hope Powell’s side sees them leapfrog Everton and kickstarts their maiden WSL season. The Toffees, meanwhile, looked set to pick up their first three points as Siri Worm’s low cross from the left found
Claudia Walker who fired past Becky Spencer to give them the lead at West Ham with five minutes the clock. Underterred by their early concession, Matt Beard’s Hammers scored twice, a Jane Ross header then a Brianna Visalli penalty enough to give them the lead going into the break.
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That’s all from me. It’s been ace. Bye!
An entirely deserved victory after a dominant Chelsea performance. They could have scored a few more goals, but it’s the points that count. Here’s Magdalena Eriksson, the match-winner:
So precious. The second half was all about getting the three points, get more confidence with that, and we’re so pleased with the three points today. I’ve blacked out [the build-up to the goal]. I don’t really know what happened. I just tried to go for goal. it wasn’t the smoothest thing I’ve ever done but it went in, and I’m very happy with that. Today, it was a step up in the performance. We created enough to win the game. We’ve been doing that in the last games as well but to score enough to win the game is so good.
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Final score: Chelsea 1-0 Liverpool
90+7 mins: And that’s it! Chelsea wrap up a second league win of the season!
90+6 mins: The game is petering out with the ball stuck in Liverpool’s half.
90+4 mins: They try, but Clarke’s cross goes straight to Telford.
90+3 mins: Liverpool really haven’t created a decent chance all game. They have three more minutes in which to finally do so.
90+1 mins: There will be about six minutes of stoppage time.
90 mins: The weather has turned absolutely biblical. It’s hailing noisily, and windy to boot.
89 mins: For much of the game the players have been troubled by a low and blinding sun. Now, though, it’s raining.
88 mins: Adelina Engman has come on for Chelsea.
87 mins: Kitching comes out to deal with a long through ball, and at the edge of the area decides to punch it clear rather than heading it. It looked to me like she made contact with the ball outside her area, and that was a puzzling and risky decision. She got away with it, though.
87 mins: Thorisdottir has headed to the dressing room, and her match is also over.
86 mins: Little replaces Matthews, who seemed in reasonable spirits as she left the field but is unable to continue.
85 mins: Jasmine Matthews, the Liverpool player concerned, is on her feet. Thorisdottir, the Chelsea player, is also up.
84 mins: Neither player has moved and a stretcher has been brought on, so there’s clearly a genuine problem here, but the rest of the players no longer look so terribly concerned.
82 mins: Chelsea have another corner, and as it swings into the area two players go down. The rest of the players immediately scream for medical attention.
80 mins: England, who should have scored a goal or two, goes off, and Bachmann replaces her.
79 mins: Liverpool are going a bit route one, hitting long balls into Chelsea’s penalty area. From the latest, Murray tries to control while Eriksson tries to stop her, and both go to ground. Probably not a penalty, but that was an uncomfortable moment for the home side.
77 mins: Liverpool take Fahey off and bring Murray on.
77 mins: And that ends with a terrific chance for Chelsea! It’s another fine cross from Andersson on the left, and this one bounces through to England, just beyond the far post, who somehow hits over the bar!
75 mins: A bit of a lull, with neither side able to seriously threaten their opponents’ penalty area.
71 mins: Having spent time on the left and on the right, Babajide is now attacking down the middle for Liverpool.
69 mins: Another change, as Liverpool bring on Daniels and take off Linnett.
69 mins: Cuthbert is booked for flying in late on Bradley-Auckland in an effort to prevent the Liverpool player clearing.
68 mins: Liverpool started this half brightly but it has now settled back into a similar pattern to the first, with Chelsea pressing in search of a second.
66 mins: Blundell’s late run into the box is entirely untracked and allows a corner to be played to her feet, but her chip to the far post is a little overhit and floats out of play.
65 mins: Babajide is booked for dissent after getting annoyed at conceding a free kick in midfield.
64 mins: Andersson crosses from the left, Kitching comes out to claim it but England ghosts in front of her and heads over an empty goal!
62 mins: Spence trots off to make space for her.
61 mins: Chelsea are about to make a change, with Maria Thorisdottir on the touchline and looking eager.
59 mins: Chelsea win a corner on the right, driven in by Cuthbert and headed across goal and narrowly wide by Eriksson.
57 mins: Eriksson’s long, hanging cross comes to earth with Kitching and England underneath it. Kitching punches clear but the goalkeeper goes down, apparently hurt.
54 mins: Cuthbert’s threatening shot deflects off Matthews and loops just over the bar.
53 mins: Spence is booked for taking down Clarke, who is very much in the thick of things at the start of the second half.
52 mins: Clarke has a chance to return the favour, carrying the ball down the right and spotting Coombs running absolutely free and totally clear down the middle, but she hits her pass into a defender.
48 mins: Chance for Liverpool! Coombs finds Clarke, who controls on her thigh, bursts into the area and then shoots straight down the middle of goal, and straight at Telford!
46 mins: Peeeeep! Chelsea’s Fran Kirby gets the second half started.
The teams are back out and ready for more. Can Liverpool find a way back into this game? It’s time to find out!
It’s not all been bad news for Liverpool. Their full backs have played well, Clarke’s been sporadically threatening and Babajide was excellent until she was swapped from the left wing to the right about halfway through the half, and still occasionally sparky. Having conceded only once they remain in the game. However, Chelsea have been vastly superior overall in the first half, and Vicky Jepson’s first interval as Liverpool’s full-time manager will be a busy one, with considerably work to be done if they are to get anything from this game.
Half time: Chelsea 1-0 Liverpool
45+1 mins: Peeeep! It’s half time!
45 mins: Babajide intercepts a pass midway inside Chelsea’s half, turns nicely and shoots. Telford saves easily enough, but it was a demonstration of good technique and positive intent.
45 mins: Liverpool make a rare foray forward, where they win a corner. They take it short and immediately give it away.
42 mins: Another fine Chelsea move ends with Kirby shooting from the 18-yard line, right in the middle of the pitch, but Kitching makes a reasonably comfortable save.
41 mins: Spence has another go, with her right foot this time, but it rolls shyly goalwards and Kitching picks it up.
38 mins: The corner bounces out of the other side of the area but is sent back in from the right, and Spence’s header loops into Kitching’s arms.
38 mins: Liverpool have been chasing shadows for about 10 minutes. Chelsea work the ball right, then central, and then down the left before winning a corner.
35 mins: Chelsea are controlling this match now, playing with a bit more freedom, or at least a lot less tension, since the goal. Liverpool are breaking occasionally, mainly down the left, but offering little genuine threat.
33 mins: Here’s a video of the goal. Watch and enjoy.
😱😱😱
— The FA Women's Super League (@FAWSL) October 28, 2018
What a goal, @MagdaEricsson!
She puts @ChelseaFCW 1-0 up against Liverpool with an overhead kick! pic.twitter.com/oGJkzLqUSd
30 mins: A fine crossfield pass sends Clarke racing away in ye olde inside left channel, but Bright gets across to snuff out the danger at the vital moment.
27 mins: It was a corner, won by Kirby at the far post and headed back across goal to Eriksson, in way too much space with the defence all following the ball, who controlled nicely on her chest and then sent an overhead into the top corner!
GOAL! Chelsea 1-0 Liverpool (Eriksson, 27 mins)
Chelsea take the lead with an overhead into the top corner!
26 mins: Clarke gets down the left for Liverpool, and then goes down. She’s convinced that she was tripped; the referee’s thinks she wasn’t. Goal kick.
23 mins: The ball bounces through to Kitching, the Liverpool goalkeeper, but with nobody near her she miscontrols and hands Chelsea a corner.
22 mins: Chelsea are dominating here, and making chances. So far they have been unable to convert any, which has pretty much been the story of their season so far.
20 mins: Chance for Chelsea! A fine move ends with Cuthbert miscuing a first-time shot which skews to Kirby, who controls, spins and fires wide.
20 mins: Cuthbert gets in a good position to the right of the Liverpool goal, but her driven cross/shot – which might have been going in – finds only Bradley-Auckland well placed again.
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19 mins: I’ve not seen much of Rinsola Babajide before, but she’s been impressive so far. She just tracked back well from her left-wing berth to break up a Chelsea attack inside her own area, and then rather than hacking clear brought the ball forward herself, running to the halfway line.
15 mins: Now Bradley-Auckland tries to score at the other end, from a long way out – perhaps 45 yards or so – but Telford catches.
13 mins: Chelsea are denied by a brilliant goalline clearance! Spence has a low shot from just outside the area and it was destined for the corner of the net, with Kitching this time helpless, until Bradley-Auckland stuck out a leg at the last to divert it wide!
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12 mins: Ji now shoots from just outside the box, and Kitching saves again. That was a good move, though, with Chelsea moving the ball well around Liverpool’s penalty area – but not, still, into it.
10 mins: And another! This time Chelsea’s Ingle takes aim from outside the area. It’s on target, but Kitching makes a straightforward save.
9 mins: And another! This one’s from Linnett at the other end, but this too goes wide.
8 mins: A shot! Bright, the Chelsea captain, has it, but she’s 40 yards from goal and misses the target by a distance.
7 mins: There is a brief appeal for handball against Robe, inside Liverpool’s penalty area, but it’s entirely without merit and the referee ignores it.
5 mins: Very much in the early-game sparring phase still, with the ball spending almost all its time within 25 yards of the halfway line.
2 mins: Liverpool are the first team to get the ball into their opponents’ penalty area, but Clarke’s cross is headed clear.
1 min: And they’re off! Liverpool get the game started!
Liverpool are still huddling!
Pre-match huddles are currently being huddled. Kick-off moments away!
Liverpool have now joined them, and out they come!
I have pictures! And they’re showing Chelsea’s team in the tunnel, waiting for some opponents to turn up.
Only 15 minutes to kick-off and excitement is building (I’m guessing – I personally am still waiting for the BBC’s coverage to begin).
The teams!
The team sheets are in, and these are today’s line-ups:
This is how your Chelsea team lines up today! 💪
— Chelsea FC Women (@ChelseaFCW) October 28, 2018
One hour to go... #CFCW pic.twitter.com/RStF6HmZPR
Your #LFCWomen team to take on @ChelseaFCW...
— Liverpool FC Women (@LiverpoolFCW) October 28, 2018
📺 Watch live on BBC Red Button or BBC iPlayer pic.twitter.com/pYCAXdpKmB
Hello world!
Chelsea, last season’s champions, have started the season poorly, winning just one of their opening six games to sit unimpressively in seventh place. Liverpool, meanwhile, have had a chaotic start to the season, in which Neil Redfearn quit as their manager after a single match – a 5-0 defeat to Arsenal – leaving the goalkeeping coach, Chris Kirkland, and the development squad manager, Vicky Jepson, in joint temporary charge. They seemed in disarray, but they have won four of their five matches since then, and with three league victories are fourth in the WSL table. Jepson was named as Redfearn’s permanent replacement on Friday, at which point this is what she had to say about today’s game:
It doesn’t change things in terms of me just being given the title of manager because we’ve been together on this journey as staff and as a group. So we’ll be continuing the same as we have been doing. We know as a group this game is going to be very challenging because as individuals they are outstanding and they have got a great manager who has grown them from strength to strength as a collective, so they are going to be a very tough test. But it’s one that we are very much looking forward to and we’ll give it our all.
While this is what Chelsea’s manager, Emma Hayes, had to say on this match after her side dominated last Sunday’s game against Birmingham only to be held to a 0-0 draw:
As I’ve said to the players, we can take heart from the number of chances we are creating at the moment and yes there is pressure when you don’t stick it in the back of the net, but we just need to remain patient and it will happen for us. The team are doing absolutely everything they can to put things right and as I keep saying to them, we’ve just got to keep at it. We should be talking about three points against Birmingham, but we’re not – and it’s up to us to make sure we put that right against Liverpool. They’re in good form at the moment, but we know we’ve got the quality to hurt any side.
And so, in short, we have for various reasons an intriguing game on our hands this afternoon. Settle in, let’s see what happens.
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