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TRUE BLUES STUN AS CHELSEA RETAIN SUBWAY CUP TITLE FOR SECOND YEAR IN A ROW

image via @chelseafcw

Chelsea FC:

Lineups: Hampton (GK), Bronze, Buchanan, Buurman, Baltimore, Walsh, Cuthbert ©, Nusken, James, Rytting Kaneryd, Thompson

Subs: Beever-Jones (46’) Bjorn (62’), Kaptein (67’)

Manchester United:

Lineups: Tullis-Joyce(GK), Le Tissier ©, Lundkvist, Park, Mallard, Terland, Riviere, Naalsund, Janssen, Zigiotti, Wangerheim

Subs: Rolfo(59’), Schuller(59’), Awujo (87’)

Chelsea take on Manchester United today in a bid to win the first domestic silverware of the season. Both teams entered the competition in December where Chelsea faced Liverpool and Manchester United hosted Tottenham Hotspur.

For Chelsea, a 9-1 win meant that they were through to the semi finals with ease, but for Manchester United, a winner from Fridolina Rolfo in the 86th minute meant that they too were through to the semis. Here, the red devils travelled to north London where they beat Arsenal 1-0 with thanks to Elisabeth Terland. The blues were much the same, travelling to the blue side of Manchester and also winning 1-0, a first half goal from Wieke Kaptein being the difference maker.

Chelsea took the kick off in the south west through Lauren James and it was her who won the first corner of the game within the same minute.

Sandy Baltimore, however took the corner short and United were able to disposess Chelsea meaning the reds were on the counter attack. Here Hannah Hampton made her first save of the game, knocking thr ball out for a corner.

With the opening stages looking even on both sides, it was Kadeisha Buchanan who made a crucial tackle to stop Elisabeth Terland from getting through on goal, in her first start in 16 months.

Elisabeth Terland once again had a chance for a shot on goal in the 11th minute, however the ball was taken well wide of the goal in her resulting shot.

Chelsea’s counter attack meant that Lauren James found herself in open space before the fifteenth minute mark, and with an effortless pass from Keira Walsh, the attacker had the chance to shoot on goal, this however went just wide of the cross bar, resulting in a goal kick for the reds.

A mistimed run from Erin Cuthbert in the 19th minute meant that Ellen Wangerheim was allowed through on goal, however, the Sweden international couldnt quite get the shot off, forcing Hannah Hampton into yet another save.

A Manchester United throw-in was met by a shaky touch from Domnique Janssen, allowing Lauren James to collect the ball on the right hand side, shooting directly into the back of the net from outside the 6 yard box.

Manchester United responded accordingly however, with Lisa Naalsund blocking Keira Walsh’s pass and linking up with Julia Zigiotti who passed the ball out to Melvine Malard, the forward’s cross however proved too heavy for her companions, soaring past the goal and out for a Chelsea throw.

At the half way point of the first half, Sandy Baltimore barged Jess park off the ball in a fantastic effort to dispossess the England international inside the box, Chelsea’s counter attack led to a throw in inline with the opposite box.

Just three minutes later, United were on the attack once again, however Dutch youngster Veerle Buurman was able to put in a crucial tackle to switch the ball to the other side of the pitch where the resulting shot was sent just wide of the far post.

Erin Cuthbert found the ball in the 33rd minute after a miscommunication in  the opposition’s defence, and with her quick feet, today’s captain was able to get a shot off from range, this was however shot well wide of goal.

The Chelsea captain once again had an opportunity on goal, running in from range however despite the improvement on her previous attempt, this too what shot over the cross bar.

Just minutes later, Alyssa Thompson found herself 1-on-1 with the United Keeper; however, a touch too much meant that the ball was olayed directly into the gloves of Phallon Tullis-Joyce.

Moments before half time, United were on the attack once again, with an accidental nod forward from Buurman which gave Melvine Malard the ball, the Dutch international however, was able to recover the attempted pass to Wangerheim,

With 1 minute added time announced, United had one final bid for an equaliser before the whistle, this however was met by Hannah Hampton who met the ball in the dying stages

Half time: Chelsea 1- 0 Manchester United 

With a switch of sides, Aggie Beever-Jones took to the field in place of Alyssa Thompson ahead of the second half.

Lauren James came close to both hers and Chelsea’s second in the 53rd minute, the ball however her run went out of bounds before she could get her shot off.

Lauren James recieved the first card of the game in the 56th minute due to a dodgy tackle on Julia Zigiotti after being dispossessed by the Sweden international.

Chelsea earned themselves another corner in the 58th minute, Sandy Baltimore finding in which the rebound was sent back into the box, finding the head of Kadeisha Buchanan who headed the ball just wide of goal

Fridolina Rolfo replaced Jayde Riviere and Lea Schuller replaced Ellen Wangerheim in the 59th minute in a bid to find an equaliser for the red devils.

Nathalie Bjorn replaced Kadeisha Buchanan in the 62nd minute, the Swedish internaational making her return from injury after more than three months. This moment however was short lived, with the defender going down on the ball after just 3 minutes and signalling to come off the field just moments later. Wieke Kaptein replaced the defender in the 67th minute.

Lauren James was able to feed the ball into the box in the 70th minute, coming close to the head of Aggie Beever-Jones, Maya Le Tissier got there first however, nodding the ball backwards and forcing Phallon Tullis-Joyce into a high save.

In the 77th minute, Johanna Rytting Kaneryd broke free down the right flank, crossing the ball to Aggie Beever-Jones, the academy graduate was able to chest the ball down and get her boot to it, doubling the defecit infront of the Blues fans.

5 minutes later, Lauren James was through on goal again, with defenders leavingher in yards of space, the England international was able to shoot at goal, however Tullis-Joyce was there to knock the ball out for a corner, this however led to nothing.

In the 86th minute Mamchester United made the final sub of the game, bringing Simi Awujo on in place of Julia Zigiotti.

The substitute earnt the red devils a corner in the final minutes of normal time in a final bid to get a goal, however, even with Phallon Tullis-Joyce in the box, the northern team were unable to find the net.

With 8 minutes of added time on the clock, Lexi Potter replaced Lauren James in the middle, with the youngster taking on a slightly different role to usual.

The 94th minute saw yet another attempt from Manchester United sore above the goal.

Full time: Chelsea 2 – 0 Manchester United

An impressive performance from both teams today, however it was Chelsea who sealed the victory at Ashton Gate, adding to their trophy cabinet once more to retain the title.

Categories
Women’s Asia Cup

AFC Women’s Asian Cup Quarter final draw whos playing who?

Photo: @TheMatildas (X)

With the Asian Cup group stage now completed. The final eight teams remain in the fight for the title.

Host nation Australia take on North Korea on Friday, March 13th, at 10:00 AM (GMT) after finishing runners-up in Group A. North Korea also finished in second place, this time in Group B, finishing behind China. The game is being hosted in Perth, at HBF Park. It’s a battle between two of the top goal scorers in the competition. North Korea’s Myong Yu-Jong and Australia’s Alanna Kennedy sit in tied first place in the goalscoring charts, both on four.

In the second quarter-final, nine-time champions China take on Chinese Taipei on Saturday, March 14th. China finished top of Group B, winning all three of their group games. Chinese Taipei, on the other hand, finished runners-up of Group C, winning twice and losing once. This quarterfinal is also being held at the HBF Park in Perth with kickoff at 05:00 AM (GMT).

It’s another Saturday affair for quarter-final three! Group A winners South Korea play host to the best-placed third-finishing side, Uzbekistan. The tie follows the conclusion of quarter-final two between China and Chinese Taipei; however, this fixture is being played at Stadium Australia in Sydney.

Finally, quarter-final four plays hosts to tournament favourites Japan and the Philippines on Sunday, March 15th. This game is also set to be played at Stadium Australia, with an exciting tie upcoming as Japan look to continue their ruthless form in this competition.

In terms of semi-final placement, the winners of Australia vs North Korea will play the winners of China and Chinese Taipei. Whereas the winners of South Korea vs Uzbekistan will face the winners of Japan vs Philippines as the final of the competition on March 21st grows ever closer.

Categories
Women’s Asia Cup

Japan at the Asian Cup – the team to watch this year?

PHOTO: @jfa_nadeshiko ( X )

It’s no surprise that Japan are a team renowned for their technical playstyle, and with the AFC Women’s Asian Cup now underway in Australia, let’s take a look at why Japan are one of the teams to watch during this tournament.

Since the competition began in 1975, Japan has participated in it seventeen times. Impressively, they have reached the final four of the competition fifteen times.

Their record is as follows. Japan has finished in fourth place three times in this competition, with these finishes coming in 1999, 2003 and 2006, with those tournaments being hosted in the Philippines, Thailand and Australia. They would, however, go on to finish third six times. 

In terms of their best results, they won the competition back-to-back in 2014 when the competition was hosted in Vietnam, before then going on to win it a second consecutive time when the competition made its way over to Jordan in 2018.

In their 2014 final, the Japanese team faced hosts of this year’s competition, Australia. Japan claimed their first Asian Cup title, winning 1-0 thanks to a goal from defender Azusa Iwashimizu on twenty-eight minutes. In 2018, Australia would be put to the sword again by Japan as they claimed their second title; this time, a late goal from Kumi Yokoyama on eighty-four minutes claimed a back-to-back title. 

It’s worth mentioning the amount of talent and depth in their squad this tournament. Players like Hasegawa, Tanikawa and Fujino are sure to shine. Hasegawa this season currently has four goals and three assists in all competitions, her best season for goals and assists at Manchester City, and is a vital midfielder for both club and country. Whereas Tanikawa from Bayern Munich is excelling with eight goals and two assists, partnering up with Aoba Fujino, who is having a wonderful season with Manchester City, contributing six goals and two assists so far in all competitions, Japan’s midfield and attack are certainly something to be looking out for as the competition goes on. 

Their opening game against Chinese Taipei ended in a 2-0 win. With goals from Momoko Tanikawa and Kiko Seike, they’re in pole position at the top of Group C, with India up next; a win for Japan would see their place in the knockouts confirmed as they look to gain qualification to the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2027 in Brazil.  

They finish their group stage campaign with a trip to HBF Park in Perth, taking on Vietnam, who currently sit second only on goal difference!

Categories
Basketball

Mist are your Unrivaled Champions but how successful was the tournament? 

Screenshot

photo taken from @unrivaledbasketball and @mistbc on instagram

Mist won their first title as they faced Phantom in the Championship on Wednesday (4th March). After the 80-74 win for Mist, Breanna Stewart won MVP for the playoffs after helping the side win the championship from a two point free throw.

After the inaugural season in 2025, the competition returned for its second in 2026 after initially being founded by WNBA stars Napheesa Collier and Breanna Stewart. The League allows WNBA players to play domestically and to bypass any complications from the league’s prioritization rule for players who choose to play overseas in the offseason.  

The games are all played on a full court with two ends (being slightly shorter than the ones in the WNBA) and consists of three seven-minute periods. It is then followed by a “winning score” fourth period which is played under Elam Ending conditions (ending the game by playing to a target score). 11 points are added to the leading team’s (or tied teams’) score at the end of the third period with the game continuing with no game clock but with an active shot clock. The first team to reach or exceed the “winning score” wins and the shot clock is shortened to 18 seconds for full possession and 12 seconds for resets. 

Throughout the season: 

The season kicked off with all eight teams playing on the same day (5th January) as Mist, Laces, Rose and Breeze all won their opening games against Hive, Vinyl, Lunar Owls and Phantom respectively. Phantom led the standings after the regular season, winning 11 games and losing just three, with a winning streak of seven in a row. Mist finished in second with 10 wins and four losses with a winning streak of four in a row. The other teams to round out the play off spots were Laces, Rose, Breeze and Vinyl in that order with Vinyl clinching the last remaining spot after five wins and nine losses. 

Lunar Owls and Hive missed out on a play off spot after they both finished with four wins and 10 losses throughout the season and after point difference, Hive finished bottom in their inaugural season. 

In the Semi-Finals, they headed to Barclays Center in New York City where the arena was sold out and hosted 18,000+ fans across the two games.

1on1 Tournament: 

The tournament was held midseason over the week where the world’s best players stood on one court, just themselves and one aim – $200k. After facing Mists’ Allisha Gray in the final, Chelsea Gray from Rose won two out of three of the games in the final. 24 players started the tournament, with Kelsey Plum and Aliyah Boston being the other two to reach the semi final stages. 

In the Final: 

After losing both matchups throughout the season, Mist were coming into this as the underdogs out of the two. Both Breanna Stewart and Kelsey Plum were the stand out performers in the game with the two having 32 and 40 points to their name respectively. For Mist, Veronica Burton, Allisha Gray and Breanna Stewart all started the game with Tiffany Hayes, Kiki Iriafen and Kelsey Plum starting for Phantom. This was Iriafen’s second start in a row after playing the previous game against Vinyl in the Semi-Finals. 

Throughout the quarters, the teams were neck and neck until the third quarter, where Mist ran away with it and went 6 ahead of Phantom – 25-19 (24, 19, 12 each in the other quarters). 

Mist celebrating (L-R: Veronica Burton, Li Yueru, Alanna Smith, Arike Ogunbowale) | photo taken from @unrivaledbasketball and @mistbc on Instagram

Players of the Tournament: 

Roses’ Chelsea Gray was the MVP from the tournament after having four game winning shots, 24.2 points per game and 6.1 assists on average per game. Defensive Player of the year was Phantoms’ Aliyah Boston. She averaged 18.9 points per game, 9.7 rebounds and 2.1 blocks throughout the regular season. This was not the only award for Phantom as Roneeka Hodges got Coach of the Year after bringing her side to the number one seed in the regular season. 

Second Team for 2026 All-Unrivaled saw Brittney Skyes (Laces), Aliyah Boston (Phantom) and Allisha Gray (Mist) all in the team. Laces’ Brittney Skyes saw 20.3 points, 4.7 rebounds and 1.9 assists averaged per game in the regular season. Phantoms’ Aliyah Boston averaged 18.9 points, 9.7 rebounds and 2.1 blocks per game throughout the regular season. Finally, Mists’ Allisha Gray saw 21.8 points, 4.7 rebounds and 2.8 assists averaged per game in the regular season. 

In the first team, we saw Paige Bueckers, Chelsea Gray and Kelsey Plum all take the crown after their efforts in the regular season. Breezes’ Paige Bueckers saw an average of 22.1 points, 6.1 rebounds and 5.5 assists per game. Roses’ Chelsea Gray had averaged 24.2 points and 6.1 assists per game as well as having four game winning shots. Finally, Phantoms’ Kelsey Plum saw an average of 22.6 points, five assists and five game winning shots throughout the regular season. 

What’s Next: 

The WNBA is due to start in two months on May 8th, but will it actually start? There is current controversy over the pay given to the players after some who played in Unrivaled said that they earnt more across one year at Unrivaled than they do across multiple years in the WNBA. 

If the league does start, Opening up the season is Connecticut Sun vs New York Liberty and Washington Mystics vs Toronto Tempo as both start at 7.30pm ET. The WNBA draft for the 2026 season is on April 13th and includes the debut of two additional teams (Portland Fire and Toronto Tempo). The Las Vegas Aces will begin their campaign hunting for another back-to-back title with the first home game being against the same side they faced in the finals last year (Phoenix Mercury). 

Categories
FA Cup Uncategorized

Chelsea Victorious as Manchester United Eliminated from FA cup

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photo via chelseafcw on instagram

Chelsea XI: Hampton (GK), Carpenter, Buurman, Nusken, Cuthbert ©, James, Thompson, Girma, Rytting-Kaneryd, Bronze, Walsh

Substitutes: Baltimore (46’), Kerr (72’), Buchanan (91’), Reiten (91’), Kaptein (91’)

Manchester United XI:Tullis-Joyce (GK), Le Tissier ©, Lundkvist, Park, Mallard, Naalsund, Janssen, Zigiotti Olme, Wangerheim, Miyazawa, Turner

Substitutes:  Terland (70’), Awujo (70’), Schuller (106’), George (106’)

The fifth round of the cup saw teams up and down the country face off in a bid to progress to the quarter finals of the Adobe Women’s FA Cup this weekend. For Chelsea FC it meant a repeat opf last year’s FA Cup Final as they hosted Manchester United at home for the first time in the competition.

The teams have met three times in the competition before, with the blues claiming victories in both finals at Wembley Stadium and the Red Devils seeing victory at home to progress to the finals in 2024.

More recently, the teams faced off in the Barclays Womens Super League in Manchester where the sides drew 1-1 thanks to a goal from each side inside the first 20 minutes.

Manchester United took the kick off in South London through Lisa Naalsund however were unable to keep [ppossesion for long, with Chelsea’s counter attack earning both a free kick and a blocked shot going out of play.

The resulting corner gave Keira Walsh an option to shoot in the edge of the area however her shot was blocked once more.

The following moments continued with Manchester United having the upper hand however failing to prove any real threat infront of goal.

It wasnt until the 6th minute that Chelsea regained their possession, with Alyssa Thompson speed working in the Blues favour and Johanna Rytting Kaneryd breaking free in the middle of the field, a touch too many however meant that Domnique Janssen could do just enough to stop the winger from getting the shot off.

The ninth minute brought trouble for Manchester United once again, with Alyssa Thompson forcing a stellar save from the United goal keeper.

Unfortunately for the Blue’s, the two resulting corners led to nothing, and the Red Devils were in possession once again.

A relatively quiet ten minutes meant that neither team provided much promise infront of goal, with several throw-ins taking place instead.

It was in the 25th minute where the game started to pick up again, Chelsea’s press resulting in multiple goal kicks whilst Manchester United’s attempts were also sought wide. 

The 28th minute saw Alyssa Thompson link up with companions, Sjoeke Nusken and Lauren James, the attackers shot was however shot wide once more.

The 29th minute saw yet another corner from Chelsea, with Erin Cuthbert’s corner kicked directly into Tullis-Joyce’s gloves in an impressive attempt on goal.

Just three minutes later, Erin Cuthbert was through on goal once again, with the Manchester United goal keeper called into action once again.

Chelsea’s dominance continued in the following moments, allowing Dutch youngster, Veerle Buurman to get in on the action. Her shot was however blocked with the reds defence blocking the shot once again.

The 41st minute saw Ellie Carpenter break free on the right, progressing on goal with wealths of space however her resulting cross was unable to find the feet of any blue’s.

With Chelsea’s dominance on the up, Lauren James received a ball within the attacking third, her shot however was seen wide by the United defence.

Half time: Chelsea 0-0 Manchester United

The beginning of the second half saw Chelsea substitute Johanna Rytting Kaneryd for Sandy Baltimore in aims for fresh legs to help break the deadlock. 

A missed step from Maya Le Tissier saw Chelsea come close to a goal, however, Tullis-Joyce got her gloves to it once again, sending the ball out for a throw-in.

Chelsea’s dominance continued into the opening stages of the second half, with Alyssa Thompson forcing Tullis-Joyce into yet another save.

Maya Le Tissier stood over the ball in dangerous territory in the 55th minute, however the kick was blocked by Chelsea’s defence, with the follow up from Naalsund being blocked once more resulting in a corner for the visitors.

Moments later, the red devils earnt another corner however Veerle Buurman kicked the ball out of bounds at the far post.

United came close to a surprise opener in the 65th minute when Ellen Wangerheim rattled the post with a shot from range.

Just two minutes later, Manchester United proved threatening again with Melvine Malard taking a shot from range once again, this however was shot well wide of the goal.

The 70th minute saw Elisabeth Terland and Simi Awujo take the field in place of Ellen Wangerheim and Julia Zigiotti Olme.

The following moments saw Chelsea regain their form from the first half, with yet another shot on goal.

Alyssa Thompson made way for Sam Kerr in the 72nd minute, with the Blues continuing to look for the opener.

This addition proved a great benefit to Chelsea, with Tullis-Joyce forced into another save.

With a penable tackle from Domnique Janssen, Chelsea earnt a free kick on the edge of the box which was once tapped wide by the red defence  in the 77th minute.

This corner however, proved the one for the hosts with Naomi Girma collecting the ball at the far post before passing it off for Sam Kerr who was able to tap it in from close range.

Manchester United acted accordingly with another free kick earned in the attacking half. 

Maya Le Tissier stood over the ball once more, with an aim on goal eventually finding Simi Awujo who was able to level the scoring in the 81st minute.

With the score level in the 86th minute, the game looked likely to head to extra time, the teams at an equal threat to one another.

With 3 minutes added time announced, the game had seemingly amped up once more, with both sides getting increasingly hungry for the winner.

This however proved not the case, with the full time score being 1-1 and the game heading to added time.

Full time: 1-1

The beginning of extra time saw Chelsea make three more subs in  Wieke Kaptein, Guro Reiten and in her return from injury, Kadeisha Buchanan.

Chelsea’s substitutes proved to be the games biggest threat once again with Wieke Kaptein linking up with Sam Kerr who shot was blocked once more.

The first half of extra time continued much the same, with Chelsea continuing to be the more dangerous side, putting the United defence to hard work. The red’s however, saw a lot less of the ball, but still provided a dangerous attacking threat.

Yet another corner was won by the hosts in the 97th minute, with Sandy Baltimore pinging it to the head of Veerle Buurman whose shot rebounded to the feet of Naomi Girma who put the blue’s ahead once again.

With one minute added time on the clock, Chelsea continued to have the upper hand and the score remained with Chelsea.

First half extra time: Chelsea 2-1 Manchester United

The start of the second half of extra time saw Gabby George and Lea Schuller replace Millie Turner and Lisa Naalsund.

With 108 minutes on the clock, it was clear that Manchester United were struggling to find a clear opportunity on goal, spells of possession few and far between.

Chelsea earned a free kick from a tug from Maya Le Tissier on the edge of the box however, Erin Cuthbert’s shot was blocked by the red devils two man wall.

Moments later, England youngster, Layla Drury took to the field, replacing Hinata Miyazawa in a bid to level the scoring once more.

Manchester United’s closest attempt came from Lea Schuller in the 114th minute, with her header coming close to the goal line but Hannah Hampton beating the ball to it.

From then on, Manchester United looked to have regained some control on the pitch, earning a free kick in similar territory to their previous goal and even sending Tullis-Joyce up for the kick.

The red devils however failed to get their goal, with Hannah Hampton proving her worth once more.

With a minute added time announced, Phallon Tullis-Joyce found the opposite box once again in a desperate bid for an equaliser, this however proved too little too late, with the full time whistle blown once more.

Full time, extra time: Chelsea 2-1 Manchester United