FA Women’s Championship club Lewes made a mockery of the league rankings when they took on top flight giants Chelsea in the FA Women’s Continental League Cup at The Dripping Pan in November.
The competition has been much-criticised this season with the group stage so often highlighting a huge gulf in class but Fran Alonso’s Lewes side bucked that trend when they took on The Blues.
FA Women’s Super League Full-Time look back at what was a soggy afternoon in Sussex as Chelsea were pushed all the way by the home side.
Both clubs were made to ride their luck before kick-off with the fixture surviving a late pitch inspection. Once the game got underway, the goals didn’t take long to arrive. It was Chelsea who broke the deadlock after 12 minutes when Erin Cuthbert netted her first goal of the season with a neat finish.
Lewes fans will have feared the worst after seeing their side fall behind so early in the game but they were level six minutes later when Katie Rood curled home a stunning equaliser from distance.
Chelsea piled on the pressure during the remainder of the first half but were unable to find a way beyond home keeper Faye Baker. Debutant Charlotte Fleming came closest to putting the South West Londoners back in-front but her effort was palmed away by the Lewes keeper.
It was the Barclays FA Women’s Super League club who were again the most dangerous after the break. Cuthbert saw an effort deflect wide before Baker superbly denied Ramona Bachmann and substitute Guro Reiten.
Lewes had defended resolutely throughout the 90 minutes combined with some excellent goalkeeping from Baker but they were beaten 10 minutes from time when Magda Eriksson netted after connecting with a cross into the box.
Chelsea picked up the three points with a 2-1 victory but second tier side Lewes were a huge credit to themselves and they proved that the gulf in class is not always clear for all to see in the FA Women’s Continental League Cup.
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