Chelsea have returned to winning ways in the Barclays Women’s Super League by defeating a well-drilled West Ham United side 2-0 at Kingsmeadow this evening.
Sam Kerr and Erin Cuthbert got the goals as The Blues secured the London derby bragging rights.
Kerr initially had the ball in the back of the net in the 13th minute but her effort was ruled out for offside. Millie Bright then went close for Chelsea but her deflected effort trickled the wrong side of the post before Kerr couldn’t find the target with a diving header.
Chelsea finally broke the deadlock nine minutes before the break. Niamh Charles’ cross found Kerr unmarked at the back post and she headed home.
The South West Londoners should have doubled their lead just before the interval but Lauren James was superbly denied by visiting keeper Mackenzie Arnold when left one-on-one with the Australian international.
Chelsea struggled to build momentum early in the second half and the visitors almost levelled matters when Kirsty Smith acrobatically took aim at goal, however, Zećira Mušović was able to tip the ball over the bar.
At the other end, James drilled a shot wide across goal before Arnold produced an excellent reaction save to keep Charles’ deflected effort out of the net.
West Ham United worked hard throughout as they remained in the game but the final nail was hammered into their coffin in second half injury time when Chelsea substitute Cuthbert fired home from close range to make it 2-0.
Chelsea end the night top of the Barclays Women’s Super League table on seven points while West Ham United are in eighth. League positions are likely to change when the remainder of the weekend’s games are played tomorrow.
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