Chelsea close to retaining the Women's Super League title after beating London rivals Tottenham 2-1 at Kingsmeadow
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Published 29/04/2022 at 08:00 GMT
Beth England and Sam Kerr were on the scoresheet as Chelsea beat Tottenham for the second time in just five days to move a step closer to retaining their Women's Super League title. Spurs had fought their way back into the match at the end of the first half, but Chelsea responded within a minute to secure the victory which gave them breathing space at the top of the table ahead of Arsenal.
Chelsea v Tottenham - Women's Super League
Image credit: Getty Images
Chelsea are two wins away from a third successive Women’s Super League title after beating Tottenham 2-1 to go four points clear at the top.
Emma Hayes’ team have played a game more than fellow challengers Arsenal, so dropped points for their London rivals could see them crowned champions even sooner.
Meeting for the second time in just five days, Chelsea continued where they left off in the previous match by taking control when in-form Beth England headed in the opener from a Jonna Andersson cross to collect her eighth goal of the season.
The hosts dominated the first half at Kingsmeadow and were only denied a second when Guro Reiten’s effort was brilliantly turned away by Tinja-Riikka Korpela in the Spurs goal.
It took until the final minute of the first half for Tottenham to have their first effort on goal, but they made it count. Kerys Harrop met a free kick at the near post to flick the ball past Zecira Musovic and level the match totally against the run of play. It marked the end of an incredible defensive run for Chelsea, who had not conceded at home in a league match since the start of October before Harrop’s equaliser.
The parity did not last long though, with Emma Hayes’ team hitting back like champions to restore their advantage. Just a minute after being pegged back, Pernille Harder showed great skill to skip past a defender on the right hand side, before crossing to find Sam Kerr who headed past Korpela.
The second half passed with little incident, and although Erin Cuthbert hit the post for the home side, the scoring proved to be done and Chelsea held on to move a step closer to retaining their WSL title.
Their last two games of the season see them meet Birmingham on Sunday, before a home meeting with Manchester United on the final day. For Tottenham, they could play a big role in helping Chelsea reach the finish line sooner, as they face Arsenal next week.
Speaking to Sky Sports after the match, manager Emma Hayes said, “The win is all that matters, and no-one remembers the performances come the end of the season, it’s the result that counts”.
Despite not giving a glowing reference of her team’s display, Hayes was clearly impressed with their game management, saying, “When it’s 2-1, of course the opposition is still in the game but you just have to try and see it out and I thought we did that.”
After two London derbies in a row, Hayes knows her team need to recover quickly, despite being overwhelming favourites to beat bottom side Birmingham in their next fixture.
“There are two games to go. We’ve got to get fresh for Birmingham because we’ve played some hard football these last two games”, she said.
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