BLUES ‘ROLL ON’ WITH WIN OVER HAMMERS
BLUES ‘ROLL ON’ WITH COMFORTABLE WEST HAM VICTORY
CHELSEA manager Emma Hayes praised Chelsea’s professional performance as they swept to a 2-0 Barclays Women’s Super League win over West Ham.
Sam Kerr headed home Beth England’s cross in the seventh minute to open the scoring before her delivery was nodded home by England to double the lead early in the second half.
Hayes said: “I was happy for Beth and Sam in terms of their contributions to each other’s goals.
“It was a really professional performance, the early goal really helped the team. The conditions and pitch didn’t allow us to play our usual game, but we executed the game plan the way I asked them to.”
Swedish international goalkeeper
Zecira Musovic made an assured debut for Chelsea and Hayes added: “She had a great presence, you can feel that. Players trust her, her kicking and decision making. She handled everything superbly.”
Chelsea face Atlético Madrid in the second leg of the Champions League last 16 today (Wednesday) before meeting Bristol City in the Conti Cup final on Sunday.
Hayes said: “It’s exciting for us, we’re in a great position. And while we have to roll one game at a time, I think games like this used to be quite a challenge for us. That’s where I think we’ve grown. It’s doing the right things at the right time and the same goes for Wednesday.
“We get one day’s preparation for every game we play. We’ll have to regroup, recover, see what we look like and then select a team based on everything on Saturday. Everyone has to be prepared for the changes, and everyone has to be prepared to step up when their moment comes.” West Ham manager Olli Harder was disappointed to come out second best but was determined to take the good points from the Hammers’ display.
Harder said: “I’m obviously disappointed because we are here to win football matches, irrespective of the opposition. But without sounding too clichéd there are a lot of positives to take out of there.”
Harder, though, was happy with the improvement from his side after they were beaten 6-0 the last time they faced Chelsea in the Conti Cup semi-finals.
Harder said: “I thought overall the performance today was a vast improvement on the last time we played Chelsea in the Conti Cup, so from that side it was a pleasing aspect.
“We do need to be aware that we are in this position (facing relegation) and we need to make sure the performances and the upcoming results get us a little bit further away from that grey cloud.”
I was happy for Beth (England) and Sam (Kerr) in terms of their contributions to each other’s goals Emma Hayes