Everton vs Chelsea

A brace from Pernille Harder and a stoppage-time strike from Niamh Charles secured an important 3-1 victory for Chelsea against Everton in the Women's Super ...

A corner from the left resulted in a scramble inside the box, which saw the ball deflect off Buchanan and beyond Berger to level the scores at 1-1. The Blues needed to dig deep, show character and discipline with a slender lead intact and plenty of time still remaining. With 15 minutes remaining, the Blues made a double change with Bethany England and Charles replacing Reiten and Kerr. There were some nerves creeping in amongst the Blues faithful when the fourth official indicated a minimum of seven minutes added time, meaning ultimate concentration and discipline was required. We began to see more of the ball and created chances to extend the lead. Their momentum was halted momentarily with a pause in play for Buchanan to receive some treatment, but the defender was fine to continue. The hosts worked to force Chelsea to retreat into their defensive shape and that pressure amounted to an equaliser on 52 minutes. After taking the lead, the Blues began to play with more confidence and composure. On 35 minutes, James came closest to breaking the deadlock when her left-footed strike was deflected onto the crossbar as we began to ask more questions of the Everton defence. Moments later, we had the ball in the net when Kerr tucked home from close-range, only for the offside flag to deny her. In our first game back after the international break, Everton were quickest to settle into the match. Chelsea’s first half chance arrived with five minutes played when Harder curled an effort from the edge of the box that was comfortably gathered by Courtney Brosnan in the Everton goal.