Chelsea manager Emma Hayes was pleased to see her side dig out a point with a 1-1 draw at Arsenal this afternoon.
The Blues looked to have been beaten by a controversial penalty decision but Sam Kerr’s 89th-minute bullet header rescued the South West Londoners a point.
When speaking in the post-match press conference, Hayes admitted that it was far from a classic Chelsea performance but she was pleased to see her side come away from the Emirates Stadium with a share of the spoils.
“It was a cagey first half and it looked like two teams that had been on an international break which is what we can expect,” Hayes said. “Arsenal started the second half better, I thought we struggled and then the penalty came.
“I thought that my team showed tremendous character from there on in. We are away from home, not at our best, especially going forward, but I thought the finishers came in and each and every one of them added value. We dug out a point.”
The controversial penalty decision came 10 minutes into the second half. Niamh Charles looked to have barged Caitlin Foord over outside of the box but match referee Emily Heaslip pointed to the spot. Arsenal captain Kim Little made no mistake in converting from 12 yards.
Chelsea boss Hayes didn’t necessarily agree with the penalty decision but she was in no mood to contest it or criticise the level of officiating.
She said “I think we can spend a lot of time talking about different rules and laws in the game. The law of the game is that if there is first contact outside of the box and it is not carried into the box, it’s a free-kick which is what we maybe initially thought the foul was for. It wasn’t, the referee gave the decision for a tangling of legs in the box but I think that is impossible to avoid when the player is already going down.
“The referee has made that decision and we just get on with it. VAR needs to be in the game whether that is to confirm it or deny it, it isn’t anything that we haven’t already said.”
Chelsea are back in action next Sunday when they welcome Liverpool to Kingsmeadow in the Barclays Women’s Super League.
About The Author
