Sonia Bompastor’s Chelsea beat Aston Villa 1-0 at Villa Park this afternoon after a cruel own goal from Sarah Mayling less than 10 minutes from time broke Aston Villa’s stubborn resistance. The result means a distinctly sub-par Chelsea pick up three more crucial points on their march towards another Barclays Women’s Super League title and restore a ten point gap at the top of the table.
The Lineups:
AST: D’Angelo, Mayling, Parker, Patten, Maritz, Nobbs, Baijings, Hansen, Daly, Grant, Nunes
CHE: Hampton, Charles, Bright, Björn, Lawrence, Kaptein, Cuthbert, James, Macario, Reiten, Beever-Jones
The Action:
Chelsea were the big players on transfer deadline day signing Lioness star Keira Walsh from Barcelona for £440,000. However Walsh was forced to wait for her first start for the Blues, as Sonia Bompastor opted to start Wieke Kaptein and Erin Cuthbert in the midfield pivot instead. Watching on from the subs bench, she would have struggled to have been entertained by her new employers.
Stubborn, resilient, and now under new management in the form of Natalia Arroyo, Aston Villa kept Chelsea at bay for the majority of the contest. Chelsea struggled in vain to create any clear-cut opportunities, and what few moments they had were well dealt with by Villa’s disciplined back line. A rare passage of passing fluidity saw Cat Macario tee up Lauren James on the edge of the box, but her effort was deflected behind by Lucy Parker. Later on, Aggie Beaver-Jones who was given the nod ahead of Maya Ramirez to lead the line was inches away from connecting with James’ wicked delivery. But these moments were in bleak isolation as Villa’s compact set up thwarted their best efforts to progress their attacks. It came as no surprise that at halftime, they had yet to register a shot on target.
As Chelsea toiled in attack, they were starting to make errors of their own at the back, giving Villa a moment of their own to threaten. A scuffed clearance by Hannah Hampton gifted Gabi Nunes an opportunity for a free effort on goal. The Brazilian’s chip was the right idea but lacked enough height to clear Hampton’s outstretched paw before Kirsty Hanson saw her shot inadvertently blocked by her own player.
The second half was no better for Chelsea. Indeed, it was arguably worse, as Aston Villa grew in confidence, looking to build upon the strong foundations established in the first 45. They pushed and probed the Chelsea defence, although just like their opponents they lacked that cutting edge in the final third. Hanson epitomised Villa’s own attacking uncertainties, looking to be clear in the box after a penetrative pass found her on the left, but her mis-control allowed the Chelsea defence to close her out as a threat. Bompastor turned to her bench, bringing on Ramirez, and star signing Walsh for her debut trying to turn the tide of the match in her side’s favour.
Then came the 10 minutes that would decide the game. On 72 minutes, a superb piece of interplay on the halfway line between Jordan Nobbs and Rachel Daly sent Hanson racing at a Chelsea defence short of numbers. Seeing Hampton off her line, she unleashed a rocket from range that beat Hampton’s stretch but cannoned off the crossbar and away to safety.
It would have been just reward for the superb team effort Villa had exhibited throughout the contest. Instead, they would have their hearts broken just 10 minutes later. Lucy Parker, who until then had done a superb job marshalling the lively Ramirez, missed her tackle and opened the back door for Ramirez to race down the wing and into the penalty area. With Villa stretched, Ramirez sent a low ball into the 6-yard box for Maika Hamano to convert. Sensing the danger, Mayling lunged in to intercept but could only divert the ball past the stranded Sabrina D’Angelo and into her own net.
It was a cruel blow on Villa, who had worked tirelessly all game to keep the WSL leaders at bay, only to have the rug pulled out from under their feet right at the death. Whilst the result was not what they would have wanted, they take heart from their performance on the day, and hope this is the start of a bright new era under Arroyo. For Chelsea, just like last weekend, it was another late win, despite not performing to their absolute maximum. It’s an old cliché that Champions win despite not playing well, and Chelsea were certainly able to do just that at Villa Park.
The Halfway Line Player of the Match: Maya Ramirez
In a game of few opportunities, Ramirez made took the crucial one off the bench. The Colombian finally winning the battle with her defender and setting up the winning moment for her side.
