Chelsea reach their first final under new manager sonia bompastor

Sjoeke Nusken celebrating. Photo: BBC Sport

Chelsea 2-0 West Ham

The Hammers faced off against a victorious Chelsea side on Wednesday night at Kingsmeadow Stadium. With a place in the Subway Cup final on the line, both sides showed hunger and desire to be the team that progressed.

In the opening 10 minutes, we saw expected early pressure from The Blues who looked comfortable under the West Ham press.

The Hammers seemed incapable of maintaining any possession, due to the Chelsea players' game intelligence reading their play.

A player instrumental to this was the England international Keira Walsh; the new signing offered a calming presence in the midfield as well as creative game style ideas.

In the 11th minute, Guro Reiten found herself in an unmarked position and released a shot which went just shy of the near post. As time went on, the home side began to find their feet with Mayra Ramirez, Walsh and Nathalie Bjorn releasing shots and headers in an attempt to break the deadlock.

After some nervy moments in front of goal for the travelling side, Chelsea deservedly managed to convert an opportunity from a fantastic shot by the Swede, Johanna Rytting Kanyerd, confidently beating the keeper at the near post in the 20th minute.

A break by Viviane Asseyi in the 21st minute allowed space to open up for the striker who ended up hitting the ball over the crossbar, to the disappointment of the away fans.

She was later fouled by Ashley Lawrence who in turn received a yellow card warning. Chelsea looked as if they were replicating sequences from the training ground as their frontline weaved around the opposition in the final third.

Utilising their momentum, Sjoeke Nusken added to the goal tally herself after pouncing on a ‘hospital pass’ from Katrina Gorry to Eva Nyström at the back. The centre back crumbled under pressure, allowing the German to drive into the box and calmly take the ball around Kinga Szemik to slot it home.

Despite an improvement in play by The Hammers following a regroup after Nusken’s goal, Chelsea managed to close off the second half as the dominating side, being relentless on the press.

The Blues came out for the second half and immediately instigated some beautiful link up play, leading to a Rytting Kanyerd cross which eventually found Niamh Charles who couldn’t keep her shot down.

Additionally, Ramirez demonstrated her strength as she tussled back Kirsty Smith and provided a promising ball across the face of goal. Nusken, who has had an impressive game, looked vital to the Blues, stringing balls out to both the wings or through the centre.

The Hammers began to grow into the game, with Hanshaw causing issues to Lawrence at the back. A chance came for them around the 60 minute mark but Hannah Hampton presence was enough to prevent this.

The game was starting to balance out and Chelsea found themselves having to increasingly play in their own half. Rytting Kaneryd went down in pain after being fouled by Asseyi, but much to the delight of the loyal fans, was able to return to her feet without assistance.

Gorry looked a major asset to the away side, helping to hold her team together. Likewise, Rico Ueki was technically fantastic in the final third, despite receiving a yellow card.

Camila Sáez had a header opportunity but was unable to capitalise and find the back of the net. However, the team continued to have a few great spells of play as they found their feet.

Chelsea seemed to switch off midway through the second half and were potentially missing the midfield presence of the Scottish Star, Erin Cuthbert.

Fortunately, they had fresh legs from renown Lauren James, who kept the ball to her feet like a magnet and kept the game alive for the Blues.

In the latter moments, Asseyi took a free kick which reached Sáez, but Hampton was yet again there to ensure her team kept a clean sheet.

Chelsea found some success down the right wing with West Ham legs looking slightly weary in the final minutes.

The home side looked composed in possession, but didn’t have the same structure out of possession as they did in the first half, meaning Aggie Beever Jones looked isolated at times up front.

Nevertheless, The Blues came away on top and are headed to their 6th consecutive final in this competition.

Teams:

Chelsea Women- Hannah Hampton (GK), Millie Bright ©, Sjoeke Nusken, Mayra Ramirez, Guro Reiten, Ashley Lawrence, Natalie Bjorn, Johanna Rytting Kanyerd, Niamh Charles, Maika Hamano

Head Coach- Sonia Bompastor

Substitutes used: Lauren James, Aggie Beever Jones, Weike Kaptein, Oriane Jean-François

Scorers: Johanna Rytting Kanyerd, Sjoeke Nusken

West Ham Women- Kinga Szemik (GK), Kirsty Smith, Oona Siren, Riko Ueki, Eva Nyström, Shelina Zadorsky, Shekeira Martinez, Viviane Asseyi, Katrina Gorry ©, Li Mengwen, Verena Hanshaw

Head Coach- Rehanne Skinner

Substitutes used: Seraina Piubel, Dagny Brynjarsdottir, Camila Sáez, Manuela Paví