Tag: Women’s Sport

Categories
WSL

Chelsea Thrash Crystal Palace 5-0 in Bid to Retain FA Cup

Photo: Wing Chong for Constancy Sport

Chelsea XI: Hampton (GK), Bright ©, Buurman, Cuthbert, James, Reiten, Thompson, Girma, Kaptein, Rytting Kaneryd, Kerr

Substitutes: Bronze (46’), Nüsken (46’), Carpenter (60’), Potter (60’), Sarwie (71’)

Crystal Palace XI: Yanez (GK), Napier, Arthur, Cato, Everett ©, Sharpe, Weerden, Nolan, Ladd, Blanchard, Larkin

Substitutes: Howat (62’), Hughes (78’), Riley (78’)

Chelsea FC looked to keep their hopes of a quadruple winning season alive this afternoon in another London Derby at home to Crystal Palace. For Palace, this was their final real chance at collecting silverware this season, with the team currently sitting fifth in the WSL 2, eight points behind current league leaders Charlton Athletic, despite their current game in hand.

The sides met three times last season, including in the quarter finals of this same competition where the blues won 1-0 at home once again. The Eagles were also victim to an 11-0 loss on aggregate in the league, but with relegation at the conclusion of last season, the teams performances against WSL sides has seemingly improved, so can the team claim their first win against Chelsesa and knock the current champions out of the cup?

Chelsea’s Lauren James took the kick off, with the Blues’ wealth of experience in the competition showing from the off.

The first shot on target of the game came from Crystal Palace’s Abbie Larkin, providing a cross from the left hand sude straight into the gloves of Hannah Hampton. Chelsea however, were quick on the counter attack, immediately proving threatening in the Eagle’s box.

The opening stages were relatively even in south London with Chelsea earning the first corner of the game after Alyssa Thompson’s shot slid wide of the goal.

By the tenth minute, Chelsea had found their rhythm with Naomi Girma ensuring Palace stayed out of the attacking third and out of trouble.

A foul from Molly-Mae Sharpe meant Chelsea had a free kick in dangerous territory and with  Erin Cuthbert standing over the ball, her cross met the head of Millie Bright who knocked it straight into the back of the net, giving Chelsea the lead in just the 13th minute.

In the 17th minute Chelsea were on the attack again and with a miss timed attempt at the ball from Lauren James, the ball found the feet of Johanna Rytting Kaneryd who’s cross met the head of Sam Kerr in the box, her shot was however blocked by Palace’s Shae Yanez.

In the 22nd minute Chelosea found a second through the boots of Sam Kerr, the striker’s first goal in the competition since her goal in the final at Wembley Stadiumn in 2023, warranting her iconic backflip celebration.

Lauren James came close to finding the Blue’s third in the 26th minute however a dodgy touch meant that her attempt bounced directly into the keeper’s gloves.

With Chelsea on the attack once again, Guro Reiten was brought down in the box, earning a penalty in the 29th minute. Guro Reiten was the chosen penalty taker, who of course slotted it home with ease.

Despite being 3-0 down, Palace still proved their determination, with Ashley Weerden breaking through the Chelsea defence moments later.

Chelsea came close to a fourth in the 35th minute, with a cross finding the feet of Johannan Rytting Kaneryd whose shot crossed the front of goal, failing to be picked up by a Blue’s player.

Alyssa Thompson thought she found a fourth just moments later with the forward finding the net from the left, however was punished for her foul in the lead up, meaning the score remained 3-0.

Crystal Palace had the opportunity to shrink their deficit through a free kick infront of goal, however with the pass taken short, Chelsea saw straight through their plan, keepinng th ball well clear of goal.

With a minute of added time announced, the Blue’s had the final effort of the half, a Guro Reiten cross effortlessly finding Erin Cuthbert, whose shot was impressively saved by Shae Yanez meaning the half time scire was 3-0 Chelsea.

With a change of sides, the second half was underway with two changes from Chelsea, Lucy Bronze replacing Naomi Girma and Sjoeke Nusken replacing Lauren James, the two players likeloy being rested ahead of a busy couple of weeks.

The first corner of the second half came in the 50th minute, however Erin Cuthert’s kick failed to meet any Chelsea players.

Sam Kerr found both her second and Chelsea’s fourth goal of the game at the 50th minute mark with yet another header from the Australian international.

Moments later Hannah Hampton was called into action with Ashleigh Weerden finding herself against Wieke Kaptein and Johanna Rytting Kaneryd, not a single blues defender in sight.

Chelsea consistently proved threatening throughout the second half with Alyssa Thompson finding Chelsea’s fifth from a rebound after Sjoeke Nusken forced a world class save from Shae Yanez.

Palace’s second set of substitutions saw Molly-Mae Sharpe and Abbie Larkin make way for Indiah-Paige Riley and Elise Hughes.

Ashleigh Weerden once again came close to making a breakthrough in the 80th minute however substitute Ellie Carpenter steered the ball clear of the Chelsea goal, prompting another Chelsea attack.

With yet another shot on target, Lucy Bronze’s shot from range in the 83rd minute forced Shae Yanez into another great save.

Hannah Hampton was forced into action in the dying stages when Ashleigh Weerden’s cross came close to the head of Elise Hughes inside the box.

The final substitution of the game saw Izzy Sibley replace Ashleigh Weerden with three minutes injury time on the clock.

This didn’t stop Alyssa Thompson however, the forward still searching for Chelsea’s sixth despite the Blue’s dominant display.

With the full time score being largely in Chelsea’s favour, the blues found themselves progressing to the fifth round once again and breaking their streak of seemingly underperforming in this competition against the side, but will they be able to keep up their strong form against Manchester City and Arsenal in the coming weeks?

Images via Wing Chong (@thoughtsofawing)

Categories
PWR Rugby

Meet Upcoming Red Rose, Sophie Hopkins 

Screenshot

Photo taken from @sophieh15_ on instagram 

Among the 11 uncapped players in the Red Roses Squad is Sale Sharks Outside Back, Sophie Hopkins. The England Under-20s player is currently on her year abroad which is included during her Biochemistry and French degree from University of Manchester. She is currently with French top-flight side Lyon and is the only player abroad in the squad of 47 Red Roses. 

When speaking to others, she stated that her rugby role model included fellow back and Red Rose, Ellie Kildunne and would now be training alongside her this January. “I like her speed and agility, I really admire her and look up to her – that’s the kind of player I want to be when I’m older.” 

When the Red Roses were preparing for their Rugby World Cup opener against USA, She was invited alongside fellow Sale Sharks player, Eva Wood to train with the squad which gave her a good experience and learning curve. Now knowing what the players are like in the squad, she can train alongside them this January camp. 

When speaking about the opportunity she said: “Everyone’s been so welcoming, the standard of training is so high but it’s been so fun getting stuck in and getting some good learnings to take back to club.” 

“I know what’s out there and what’s possible. I just have to work as hard as I possibly can to reach there.” 

In a short time at Lyon, she has made an impression for the club playing alongside a number of French and Italian internationals but she is one of the most highly-rated young wingers coming through the ranks. When she returns back to Sale Sharks, a lot of things would have changed after many additions and a World Cup added to the ranks, making it a more competitive environment. 

“I think I’ll come back [to sale] as a more confident player and I will have had the opportunity to find out who that is this year… I definitely want to come back and make my impact known on the team.” 

“Coming back to [Sale] Sharks next year, that’ll be a good challenge. To see whether I can play in this PWR environment – it’s so much more professional now.” 

In the AXA Elite 1 Championship, Lyon finished 8th last season and prepared to launch ahead of the season back in October with Sophie hoping to learn a new, different style of play and bring some “joue” back to Sale when she returns. At the end of the 2024/25 season, she won the Sale Sharks Young Player of the Season and hopes to bring her creative flair back to the North West after her placement year. 

In the January training camp is the entirety of the squad that won the Rugby World Cup bar from the retired Emily Scarratt and Abby Dow. Meanwhile, Lark Atkin-Davies who is expecting a child in June will join the squad but will follow a personalised training programme. 

Sophie Hopkins (14) with her Sale Sharks teammates | Photo taken from @sophieh15_ on instagram 

Categories
WSL

Blues stun in London Derby as Chelsea beat West Ham 5-0

lexi potter & chloe sarwie via @chelseafcw on instagram
lexi potter & chloe sarwie via @chelseafcw on instagram

Chelsea FC:

Starting XI – Hampton (GK), Carpenter, Bright ©, Buurman, Nusken, Cuthbert, James, Thompson, Girma, Baltimore, Rytting-Kaneryd

Subs- Kaptein (46’), Reiten (61), Kerr (61’), Potter (61’), Sarwie (80’),

West Ham United:

Starting XI- Szemik (GK), Endo, Siren, Belloumou, Ueki, Nystrom, Martinez, Asseyi, Gorry ©, Morgan, Hanshaw

Subs- Csiki (46’), Wandeler (76’), Piubel (83’), Brasero (87’),

Via @chelseafcw on Instagram

Chelsea FC looked to close the gap on Manchester City in the league this weekend in a London derby against West Ham United. The Hammers went into matchday 12 with just five points in the league, claiming one win from 11, whilst Chelsea sat in second place, claiming 24 points from a possible 33.

The Blues kicked off in Kingston with a goal within the first 50 seconds, via an own goal from Endo, the centre back failing to clear Ellie Carpenter’s cross.

The opening stages of the game continued with Chelsea dominant in possession and West Ham failing to make it out of their own half in the first few minutes.

The 11th minute saw the first pause in play, with Rika Ueki receiving treatment for a badly timed tackle by Erin Cuthbert.

Another close call from the Blues saw the Hammer’s defence struggle to clear yet again,

Erin Cuthbert’s corner proved threatening for West Ham.

West Ham’s first real chance on goal came in the 22nd minute however Chelsea proved why they’re the league’s reigning champions, and had no struggle slowing down play.

The 29th minute saw Szemik fail to clear the ball and Lauren James’ antics rebound into the net seeing the Blue’s double their lead.

Just minutes later, Chelsea came close to a third with Johanna Rytting – Kaneryd hitting the cross bar with a shot from range.

In the 41st minute, Ellie Carpenter and Johanna Rytting-Kaneryd’s link up found the boots of Alyssa Thompson who brought the blues to three.

The closing stages of the first half saw Sandy Baltimore make it four with a beautiful shot gliding past the hammers keeper and into the back of the net.

West Ham’s first shot of the game came in injury time, with Shakiera Martinez breaking through Chelsea’s defence with 

At half time the score was 4-0 to Chelsea, a dominant display for the blues return home despite their injury woes.

The second half kicked off amid confusion about Estelle Cascarino’s debut with substitutions from both sides including Erin Cuthbert making way for Wieke Kaptein and Katrina Gorry being replaced by Anna Csiki.

A relatively even opening to the second half saw an action packed fifteen minutes with Hannah Hampton being forced into her first real save of the game 

Sam Kerr, Lexi Potter and Guro Reiten were soon replaced by Lauren James, Alyssa Thompson and Sjoeke Nusken in a bid for Chelsea to score once more.

A controversial handball in the 69th saw Chelsea awarded a penalty in which Sandy Baltimore converted with ease. This meant the blues were 5-0 to the good.

Ten minutes later, goal scorer Sandy Baltimore was replaced by Chloe Sarwie, the 17-year-old making her league debut after making her way through the Chelsea academy.

Before long, West Ham made their third substitution of the game with Viviane Asseyi making way for Seraina Piubel and a final substitution meant Sarah Brasero replaced Rika Ueki.

With four minutes of stoppage time announced, West Ham’s back line proved problemed once again, with Hanshaw’s back pass finding Sam Kerr in worrying territory.

With the full time whistle pending, and Sandy Baltimore’s goal being the only one half, the full time score was 5-0 to Chelsea. The blue’s had certainly proved themselves as a title contender once more whilst Rita Guarino’s English managerial debut proved disappointing to Hammer’s fans.

Image via @chelseafcw on Instagram

Categories
WSL

Ashleigh Neville Still Scoring for Spurs

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Photo: Leicester City Women

Tottenham Hotspur 1-0 Leicester City

12:00 KO

11th January 2026

Tottenham Hotspur

Starting XI: Kop (GK), Nildén, Gaupset, England (C), Holdt, Rybrink, Vinberg, Hunt, Spence, Summanen, Koga

Goal scorers: Neville 40’ (OG)

Subs used: Hamano 64’, Thomas 72’

Leicester City

Starting XI: Clark (GK), Kees, Tierney (C), van Egmond, Ale, Mayling, Cain, McLoughlin, O’Brien, Neville, Swaby

Subs used: Mouchon 68’, Goodwin 74’, Jansson 74’, Ayane 90+1’

Tottenham Hotspur kicked off 2026 by hosting Leicester City at home for their first WSL fixture of the year. Both sides have made some interesting signings so far this January window. Tottenham started Norwegian international Signe Gaupset, but kept the rest on the bench, including Chelsea’s Hamano who is currently with Spurs on loan. Leicester, on the other hand, made quite the statement by starting Ashleigh Neville this afternoon. Neville left Spurs to sign for Leicester just three days ago, after over a decade at the club, and she is already back on what was her home turf, just in a different shirt. 

Leicester kicked off the first half but struggled to hold on to that possession throughout the opening minutes of the match. 

An early throw in from the Foxes’ Skipper Tierney saw an opportunity for the visitors but it was seemingly wasted as Spurs dominated their box. It wasn’t long before another lapse in judgement, when Leicester again lost possession in a dangerous area of the pitch, mere yards from goal, but the hosts couldn’t turn it into a shot. After facing significant pressure in their own half, the Foxes reversed and made a run for goal. A ball from new signing Mayling was well delivered to Van Egmond, but Kop deflected it. 

“There’s only one Ashleigh Neville” was heard from the stands, as she took a shot against her former club that ended up off target. It was a seemingly warm reception for the ex-Spurs fan favourite. 

Cain then took a shot against Kop. Whilst it appeared already off target, Kop pushed it further out past the post just to be sure. “Lize Kop Kop Kop”, the home fans sang in response. 

As the first half wound down, there was more excitement for the home fans. A ball driven by skipper England left Holdt 1v1 with Clark, but the ball hit the woodwork. 

The excitement continued with a corner from Summanen that ended in commotion in the box. An own goal from the Foxes was the verdict, off the head of none other than Neville. Not the impression she wanted to make against her former club surely. Spurs went into the break 1-0 up after one minute of added time. 

Tottenham opened the second half with dominance and confidence. England drove the ball to the visitors’ end, passed to Vinberg to take the shot that was then blocked by the Foxes. England and Vinberg continued to link up to press forward and had the possibility to look threatening, especially when they included Spurs newcomer Gaupset to heighten the press. Foxes forward Swaby denied them of any further chances.

There was a short stoppage in play as O’Brien received attention from medics, but she returned to the pitch a few minutes later.

As the second half ploughed on, it was time for another Spurs debut. Hamano entered the pitch in the 64thminute in place of fellow January signing Gaupset. Hamano has seen much success in her time at Chelsea; she looked a good fit with Martin Ho’s strengthening side. Leicester then also switched things around by bringing on Mouchon to replace Cain.

Leicester tried to be threatening in the box, the rebound driven by Neville who must have been on a quest for redemption, but it amounted to nothing, and the hosts regained possession pretty swiftly. 

They made another change then, bringing on Thomas to replace Vinberg. More substitutions then for Leicester as new signing Jansson came on to replace McLoughlin and Goodwin took the place of van Egmond.

In the 82nd minute, Tierney was shown the yellow card after committing a foul. The subsequent free kick was taken by Summamen and the chances that followed seemed promising. England delivered the ball to Hunt who was not only offside but hit the post anyway. There were many loud sighs from the home fans. You could definitely see an improvement in Spurs, under the leadership of Ho. They were able to create more chances in front of goal but still struggled to make anything meaningful out of them. There was another chance again in the 90th minute, it looked super exciting for the home fans. Thomas drove the ball, passed to an open England who, under pressure, passed to Koga and then the chance was gone. 

7 minutes were added. As the additional time began, Ayane came on for the Foxes to replace O’Brien. 7 minutes could be ample time to find an equaliser for some sides, but this Leicester squad were just putting out fires where they could. Neville was then shown the yellow card for a bad foul. 

Tottenham took the 3 points, interestingly, with thanks to that own goal from Neville. An own goal against your former club that bumps them up to 4th in the table. Who would have thought?

Photo from GETTY IMAGES
Categories
WSL

WSL- RETURNING WEEKEND PREVIEW AND HOW TO WATCH

Photo: Chelsea FC Women

The Barclays Women’s Super League is back! The last round of fixtures before the winter break took place on the weekend of the 13th and 14th of December and saw Manchester City go into the break six points clear of Chelsea at the top of the table.

Here is your rundown of fixtures to come this weekend and how to watch them.

In a blockbuster fixture at the Emirates. It’s Arsenal who take on Manchester United on Saturday, January 10th, with kick-off in this one at 12:30PM. Arsenal will be hoping to continue their run of good form and currently sit in third place on twenty-two points, whilst the Red Devils are hot on their tails in fourth, sitting on twenty-one. They’ll be hoping to improve on their dramatic three-all draw against Tottenham Hotspur just before the winter break. The game is available to watch on all Sky Sports football channels.

On the blue side of London, they’ll be hoping to cut the gap at the top of the table, as they host fellow London rivals West Ham United on January 11th at Kingsmeadow. West Ham, on the other hand, will be looking for a bright start under new manager Rita Guarino following the sacking of Rehanne Skinner. This one kicks off at 12:00 and is available to stream on Sky Sports + or Sky Sports Mix.

Carrying on in London, a high-flying Spurs side take on an improving Leicester City side down at the Betwright Stadium. With plenty of new signings more than likely to feature in this one, it makes an interesting one to call, as Tottenham will want to continue their push for the European places, only sitting two points behind Arsenal in 3rd and one point behind Manchester United in fourth. Again, this one kicks off at 12:00 PM on Sunday, January 11th, and is available to watch on the Sky Sports + app.

Moving up to the Northwest now, and Manchester City are looking to extend their gap at the top of the table ahead of Chelsea. They take on Everton at the Joie Stadium; having thumped Aston Villa prior to the winter break, they sit top of the table, SIX points clear of Chelsea. With a win over Everton, they could make it eleven WSL games unbeaten, whereas Everton will be looking for a crucial three points to take them further away from the bottom two of the league. The game to be played on January 11th again kicks off at 12:00 PM and is being streamed across all Sky Sports platforms.

Finally, Liverpool will be looking still for their first win of the season as they take on London City Lionesses. LCL will be looking to start strong under their newly appointed boss, Eder Maestre, following the sacking of Jocelyn Precheur after a run of poor results.

With the later kick-off of 14:30 PM on January 11th, you’ll be able to watch this one live from St Helens Stadium on the BBC red button, BBC iPlayer and BBC Sport online.