Sonia Bompastor says that she is ‘happy’ with the ‘efficient and clinical’ Chelsea forwards after victory in the Adobe Women’s FA Cup.
Chelsea successfully managed to beat Crystal Palace 5-0 on the day, with a brace from Sam Kerr accompanied by goals from Millie Bright, Guro Reiten and Alyssa Thompson.
Sonia Bompastor spoke to the media at Kingsmeadow after her side punched their ticket to the next round of the cup and The Halfway Line was there to hear from her.
Sonia Bompastor hails Chelsea ‘quality’
Sonia Bompastor broke down how Chelsea were able to win the match after the game. Jo Potter’s Crystal Palace side had looked to pack the midfield to try and stifle Chelsea but that led to Guro Reiten and Johanna Rytting Kaneryd running rampant in wide areas,
“I think most of the teams when they want to be really compact and try to protect their goal they close the central corridor. So we are used to that” Bompastor said.
“I think the most important for my players is also, even if we prepare the game and we always give them some expectations when they come into the game. I think it’s also for them to recognize and to scan where are the spaces.
“I think we are comfortable going also in the outside corridors. I think left side, right side, we have a lot of quality, different qualities, different profiles. I think we are happy to combine with short passes.
“We are happy to be in a position to cross the ball. We are happy to have players in the box to receive the crosses and to be able to be efficient and clinical. So yeah, a lot of quality in the team.
“Lot of different ways to score. I think today we were able to go with the outside corridor and to have good connections and to be successful. So I think it was great.”
‘You always have learnings’ says Bompastor after cup victory
Bompastor was asked to consider what her Chelsea side might have learnt from the victory over WSL 2 side Crystal Palace, if anything,
“You always come out of the game analysing the performance” Bompastor explained.
“So you always have learnings. So today, I think even at half time, I just said we need to improve some aspects of the game, probably in the defensive aspects, like the block was really open and we wanted to be more compact in the second half to avoid the transition.
“We know that’s probably what teams want to exploit when they play against us. And we kept the clean sheet. But I still think as a team, we can [in] some moments in the game defend in a better way.”
Chelsea face Manchester City in the Subway Women’s League Cup semi final next before hosting Arsenal in the WSL. After that they travel to a hotly anticipated test against to title rivals City in the league.
Since the break Chelsea have won twice both times by a five goal margin without conceding, The Halfway Line asked Bompastor if that was the perfect preparation for their next block of fixtures,
“I think in terms of preparation that’s a really good way to prepare [for] these two big games coming” Bompastor agreed.
“I think the fact we were able to score with different players in different ways [and] we didn’t concede any goals. We were quite strong in both games.
“I think it’s a lot of positive things we can take from these two games and going into the next two or next three, I will say.”
Chloe Sarwie and Lexi Potter working ‘really hard’ in training says Bompastor
The Halfway Line also asked Bompastor about academy graduates, Chloe Sarwie and Lexi Potter both of whom came off the bench for minutes today,
“I think it’s important for them to get the opportunity to play at the highest level, in different competitions” Bompastor noted.
“I think that’s always what I tell my players, no matter what age you are when you have the opportunity to come in, to start a game, or to come in the game, I think you need to take that opportunity and show the best version of yourself.
“These two players are working really hard in training sessions, and these last two games have been the opportunity for me also to recognize that and to give them the opportunity to play with the team in games.
“So that’s always important for their own experience. And yeah, I think they need to keep confident. They need to keep working hard to make sure that this opportunity comes again in the next games.
“And I think when they’ll get more comfortable in the team, if they have to come in big games, I think they will be ready.”
