Chelsea have continued their record-breaking unbeaten run in the Barclays FA Women’s Super League with a 4-0 victory over Tottenham Hotspur at Kingsmeadow this afternoon.
Both Chelsea and Spurs made five changes to their starting line-ups as the twice-delayed London derby was finally played.
It was Spurs who dominated for the first 20 minutes, suprising Chelsea by playing on the front foot. In the 13th minute, Shelina Zadorsky found herself in space on the edge of the Chelsea area but could only blast the ball over before Ria Percival forced a fine save from Ann-Katrin Berger in the Chelsea goal.
Chelsea soon found their feet and adapted to keep Spurs at bay. The Blues took the lead after 27 minutes when Melanie Leupolz unleashed a bullet into the bottom corner.
Before Spurs could regroup, Chelsea made it 2-0 with Pernille Harder’s shot being turned into her own net by debutant defender Abbie McManus, a player who recently joined Rehanne Skinner’s side on loan from Manchester United.
The tide had turned and Spurs struggled to gain possession as Chelsea took control. Emma Hayes’ side soon scored their third goal after 38 minutes with Harder playing a cross to Sam Kerr which she headed home, sending her side into the interval 3-0 up.
After the break, both managers made changes with Hannah Blundell coming on for Chelsea and Josie Green replacing Kit Graham for Spurs. The visitors’ change saw them revert to the type of line-up that they had used earlier in the season with a lone striker.
Spurs’ second half performance too was much like their early performances as the North Londoners defended resolutely but didn’t have much attacking threat.
On the hour, Chelsea were awarded a penalty as Kerys Harrop handled in the box. Leupolz stepped up to the penalty spot and confidently scored her second goal of the afternoon.
The game was to end 4-0 in Chelsea’s favour as they continue their unbeaten run at the top of the table. Spurs’ run of good results was brought to a crashing end but new head coach Skinner will have learnt a lot from her side in this encounter with plenty of positives to be taken away and worked on.
Chelsea host Brighton & Hove Albion next Sunday in their next match whilst Spurs travel to Aston Villa on Saturday.
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