Jessie Fleming’s first half goal was enough to see Chelsea record a 1-0 victory over a resolute and hard-working Aston Villa side at The Banks’s Stadium this afternoon.
The Canadian international latched onto Ji So-yun’s lobbed pass midway through the first half before slotting the ball beyond Villa keeper Hannah Hampton to score the game’s only goal.
A hard-fought opening produced little in the way of goalscoring opportunities with Sophie Ingle’s wayward shot being the only effort of note for either side.
Chelsea took the lead in the 22nd minute when Ji’s delicious lobbed pass caught Villa defenders Anita Asante and Elisha N’Dow out and Fleming picked the ball up and drilled it beyond Hampton into the corner of the net.
Ji then saw a thunderous effort from the edge of the box strike the bar before Hampton was required to push an Erin Cuthbert effort onto the woodwork just moments later.
The final shot of the first half went the way of Beth England but she failed to get the necessary power and precision on the ball to seriously trouble home keeper Hampton.
Villa defended with real commitment and organisation and they continued to keep Chelsea relatively quiet in the second half. The South West Londoners were gifted an opportunity seven minutes into the half as Asante was robbed by Cuthbert who crossed for England but Hampton got her gloves to the shot to direct the ball behind.
Ji then curled a free-kick narrowly wide before Chelsea boss Emma Hayes threw on Fran Kirby and Sam Kerr in an attempt to help her side find a decisive second goal. Both substitutes created half-chances for first half goalscorer Fleming but Kerr first couldn’t quite find her teammate with a low cross before Kirby’s pass failed to be forced home by the Canadian.
Villa threw bodies forward late on to compete for a number of promising set plays with Maz Pacheco forcing a big save from visiting keeper Ann-Katrin Berger at the death but Chelsea held on for an important three points.
The victory takes Chelsea level with Arsenal at the top of the Barclays FA Women’s Super League table with 15 points.