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Chelsea
Starting XI: Hampton (GK), Carpenter, Nusken, Cuthbert ©, James, Thompson, Girma, Kerr, Charles, Buchanan, Walsh
Subs: Buurman (60’), Kaptein (72’), Baltimore (72’)
Spurs
Starting XI: Kop (GK), Nilden, Gaupset, England ©, Vinberg, Tandberg, Wijk, Spence, Summanen, Koga, Blackstad
Subs: Morris (71’), Holdt (71’) Gaupset (88’)
It was the quarter final of the FA cup today and Chelsea hosted Tottenham Hotspurs at Kingsmeadow. With a rough past couple of matches for both teams, and Chelsea being knocked out of the Champions League by Arsenal, all was to play for.
The teams have met twice already this season, with Chelsea winning both matches by both 1-0 and 2-0.
Chelsea took kick off at Kingsmeadow through Lauren James and started off positively on the ball.
The Lillywhites first chance on goal came through Signe Gaupset who broke free of the Chelsea defence quite early on, Niamh Charles however, was able to dispossess the Norwegian international inside the box.
Chelsea’s first big chance came from a cross by Niamh Charles on the left flank which met the boots of Alyssa Thompson, whose shot was eventually saved by Tottenham’s Lize Kop.
Lize Kop was forced into yet another save in the 11th minute when Lauren James took a shot from outside the box, this then led to Chelsea’s second successive corner.
Chelsea earnt a free kick in dangerous territory the fifteenth minute, and with Lauren James standing over the ball, an opening goal was looking promising. The resulting shot however went just wide of goal.
Another corner came in the 19th minute, courtesy of Lauren James, who took it short to Alyssa Thompson , the USA international’s cross however only went as far as Spurs’ first man.
Chelsea’s next chance came from Lauren James once again, who took another shot on goal in the 24th minute, this however was shot well wide of the cross bar.
The blues earnt a free kick inside their own half due to a penalising foul from Amanda Nilden, who earned herself a yellow card as a result.
Sam Kerr found the opener in the 40th minute with a header off the back of Keira Walsh’s cross.
Half time score: Chelsea 1-0 Tottenham Hotspur
Spurs took kick off ahead of the second half through Catinka Tandberg and continued to dominate throughout the opening stages in terms of possession for the opening stages.
The Lillywhites came close to their first shortly later after Kadeisha Buchanan stopped her play after thinking a free kick was due after a shirt pull. However, play continued through former Blue, Bethany England, Hannah Hampton however was first to it, denying the Spurs captain from finding the equaliser.
With a foul on Matilda Vinberg, Tottenham Hotspurs earned themselves a free kick in dangerous territory, and with Evelina Summanen stood over the ball, Chelsea were in for a tricky defensive task. Summanen, decided to go direct on goal, skimming the ball past the gloves of Hannah Hampton and equalising for the Lillywhites.
Sam Kerr came close to putting Chelsea ahead once again after Amanda Nilden misplaced a back pass, allowing the Australian to get through on goal, her resulting shot however, was put wide.
In the 57th minute Amanda Nilden came close to doubling the score for Spurs however Hannah Hampton showed her skill once again and punched the ball out for a corner.
Just a couple of minutes later, Niamh Charles made way for Veerle Buurman, the former still having her minutes managed after more than three months of injury.
In the 64th minute, Sjoeke Nusken and Ellie Carpenter linked up for what looked like Chelsea’s second, this however was sent just wide of the post by the Australian international.
Before long, Ella Morris took to the field, replacing Hannahb Wijk in her first game back from her ACL injury. This came with Olivia Holdt also replacing Eveliina Summanen. In terms of Chelsea substitutions, it was here that Sandy Baltimore and Wieke Kaptein replaced Sjoeke Nusken and Lauren James.
With both sides looking for the match winner, the following ten minutes were met with end to end action, however neither team were able to find the finishing product.
In the 82nd minute, Wieke Kaptein was able to break through the Tottenham defence and pull off a cross in front of goal, Alyssa Thompson however was unable to meet the ball and produce a finish.
With five minutes on the clock, Veerle Buurman weaved her way through the Spurs defence, taking a left footed shot from the edge of the box and sending the ball to the top right corner, straight past the gloves of Lize Kop.
With three minutes injury time announced and Tottenham looking for their second equaliser, Catinka Tandberg received a promising ball from Olivia Holdt, and struck the ball just wide of the goal, only just missing out on the target.
And with that, the full time whistle was blown, an impressive display from both teams however it was Chelsea who came out victorious, sealing their place in the FA Cup Semi Finals.
Full time: Chelsea 2-1 Tottenham Hotspur
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