Lauren James was the hero as Chelsea booked their place in the FA Cup semi-finals on Sunday with a 1-0 quarter-final win over Crystal Palace.
On the warmest weekend of the year at Kingsmeadow, the Women’s Super League (WSL) leaders proved too much to handle for bottom-of-the-table Palace, in a one-sided encounter where their opponents rarely threatened.
Despite being some way from their clinical best, Chelsea were the far superior team, with James finally penetrating the Palace defence with a left-footed finish from a corner in the 64th minute.
James previously went close early in the first half, whilst Aggie Beever-Jones also had a significant chance to put Chelsea ahead with a free header only minutes later.
Beever-Jones later had a goal ruled out for offside on the stroke of the half-hour mark.
Chelsea’s pressure again proved too much for Palace in the second half, with Catarina Macario putting her side ahead in the 57th minute, only to be once again denied by the offside flag.
Once James broke the deadlock, the result never looked in doubt, although a solid Palace defence and wasteful finishing meant Chelsea were nearly left to rue their missed chances.
Fresh from sacking Laura Kaminski only a week ago, Palace would have been hoping newly appointed manager Leif Smerud could inspire a much-needed revival for the Eagles.
However, they were able to muster little attacking intent and finished the match with only one attempt on target, rarely troubling Chelsea goalkeeper Hannah Hampton, who had a quiet afternoon.
Chelsea manager Sonia Bompastor outlined the importance of fighting hard for results in an interview with Chelsea FC and said: “The big difference between us and the other teams at the moment is that we’ve been able to win games even when it’s tough and difficult. The most important thing in football is just to win.
“The good point is that we created a lot, so I’m not concerned, and now we just need to be clinical in those moments. But it’s never easy to score goals.”
The Blues have dropped only four points all season and remain unbeaten at the top of the WSL.
Smerud told Palace TV: “I think we played with our hearts on our sleeves. We’re in quite a difficult situation when it comes to injuries and everyone who got the chance today, even playing out of position without much training, gave everything.
“We played a really good team and to give it and make it a real fight was good to see. It makes me proud and makes me believe in what is going to happen next.”
Palace remain at the bottom of the WSL, four points adrift from safety, facing Aston Villa in a bottom of the table clash on 16 March.
Bompastor’s Blues now move their focus to their League Cup final clash with Manchester City on 15 March, where they will aim to triumph after three final defeats in a row.
They remain eight points clear at the top of the WSL and on track for a sixth consecutive title.
Chelsea will face Liverpool in the FA Cup semi-finals on 13 April, after they beat Arsenal 1-0.
Politics Editor of the Kingston Courier. Please get in touch if you have any local stories or political issues you wish to share that might be of interest!
