This was a startling admission from the Chelsea manager, Emma Hayes. “The league is over, the league is finished,” she said, having watched her champions again fail to score. “That’s certainly in Birmingham or Arsenal or Man City’s hands.”
In Hayes’s view, in drawing 0-0 at Birmingham, who began the day as joint leaders of the Women’s Super League, her team had “gained a point” but the sight of recently mighty Chelsea huffing and puffing at Solihull did not match that positive spin. One win from six matches with only two goals scored in total, with this a third 0-0 away draw, is a poor return but to write off a title defence so early in a campaign is unusual to say the least.
Karen Carney having a 75th-minute penalty saved by the Birmingham goalkeeper, Ann-Katrin Berger, was the key moment but the pattern of the 90 minutes was Chelsea losing their way and wrestling with their demons in front of goal.
A bright start, in which the striker Fran Kirby had a number of chances, had faded and the spot-kick awarded for Kerys Harrop’s tackle on Ji So-yun was generous in a couple of ways. It did not look much of a penalty and by then Chelsea were approaching desperation after losing momentum while Birmingham were gaining in confidence in defence.
Carney, targeted this week by horrific social media abuse, and rightly defended in all quarters except the troll community,had been made to wait until past the hour to play against her hometown and former club. As against Arsenal last week she was benched. Having added a touch more invention to Chelsea’s flagging forward line her penalty was struck at the right height for Berger to save to her right-hand side. The German completed her excellent day’s work with an even better save from Ji’s late header.
Marc Skinner, the Birmingham manager, reached for the superlatives to praise his goalkeeper. “She’s wonderful; she’s the best goalkeeper in this league without a doubt,” he said. “I always think there’s things we can improve but, when it comes to the key moments, she’s one of the best I’ve ever seen and especially when it comes to penalties.”
Birmingham’s surprise success this season is built on the defence that sits in front of Berger. That the ball never quite sat right for Kirby was usually due to a defender in blue being at close quarters or a last-ditch challenge blocking her way.
Skinner implores his team to play out from the back but, though it seemed a perilous policy against an opponent whose coaches urged their players to press high, it eventually led to the storm being weathered. The nerves of the home crowd often jangled when Birmingham players were playing the ball across the back but they will just have to get used to it. “I think if you practise it, it becomes less hairy for us,” he said. “As long as me and the players are not panicking I don’t care.”
Skinner’s team rode out the early loss of Marisa Ewers to a shoulder injury that required hospital treatment and a late red card for Hayley Ladd for a second bookable offence to hold off their aristocratic opponents.
“We’re not the best group of individuals,” Skinner said. “There’s better teams in this league individually. But we aim to be the best collective team and, if we can do that, other people will need to watch us as we can take on anyone on our day.”
Hayes batted away talk of mounting frustration but this has been a tough season for her squad. The 5-0 defeat against Arsenal last week had ended a two-year unbeaten run at home and an unblemished 25-game WSL run. The midweek Champions League win over Fiorentina was similarly workmanlike and won only by Carney being successful with an early penalty.
It now appears Chelsea’s season rests on their European adventures even if Hayes said she was thinking only of Liverpool next week. “We need to keep finding our way and keep together and recognise that we don’t always get what we want in life.”
Roundup
The lack of goals at Solihull were made up by Arsenal and Manchester City both winning 6-0. The Gunners followed up their 5-0 victory over Chelsea by defeating Reading at home. Vivianne Miedema scored a hat-trick, with Jordan Nobbs, Beth Mead and Danielle van de Donk getting one each.
Manchester City were rampant at Brighton as they scored six unanswered goals, including a Georgia Stanway treble, with the additional strikes coming from Caroline Weir, Nikita Parris and Claire Emslie.
A seventh-minute goal from Courtney Sweetman-Kirk was enough to earn Liverpool a 1-0 win at West Ham.
Bristol City were 2-1 victors over Yeovil Town in the West Country derby, as Lucy Graham scored twice, either side of an Amber Gaylor equaliser.
