West Ham United 1-4 Chelsea
Chigwell Construction Stadium
Barclays FA Women’s Super League
Thursday 10 March 2022
West Ham United Women were beaten by a ruthless Chelsea side at the Chigwell Construction Stadium on Thursday evening.
Pernille Harder scored twice and Nimah Charles added another before the break to put Chelsea in control.
But Dagný Brynjarsdóttir scored her second goal in two matches to bring the Hammers back into the contest.
However, Sam Kerr notched in a fourth for the away side, which brought an end to West Ham United’s unbeaten Barclays FA Women’s Super League run at home this season.
Olli Harder made four changes to the side that won at Reading, with Hawa Cissoko, Dagný Brynjarsdóttir, Zaneta Wyne and Claudia Walker returning to the starting XI.
Grace Fisk missed the clash due to injury, whilst Abbey-Leigh Stringer, Emma Snerle and Lisa Evans all dropped to the bench.
The Hammers survived a scare in the opening moments of the game, when a Chelsea corner found the head of Pernille Harder in the area, and her header smashed against the woodwork.
And the Chelsea dominance continued, either side of fleeting moves forward from the Hammers – with Tameka Yallop unlucky to be ruled offside on two occasions.
The away side took the lead on 21 minutes - the lively Harder seizing on misplaced pass from Lucy Parker and fired beyond an outstretched Arnold.
It got even worse for the Hammers, as Niamh Charles’ deflected shot evaded Arnold and landed in the top corner of the net – a two minute double for visitors.
Chelsea were ruthless moving forward, and Harder added her second, flicking in a header that flew onto her head from Charles and subsequently landed in the net.
The Hammers steadied slightly as the half drew to a close, knowing that they need a strong second to get back into the game!
And after the break, the Irons did exactly that, as Kate Longhurst found Brynjarsdóttir in the area, and the Icelandic midfielder volleyed the ball beyond Musovic to get a goal back.
Kateřina Svitková then went close with an effort of her own, firing narrowly wide from long-range, as Olli Harder’s team continued to look re-energised after the break.
Svitková had another chance ten minutes later, as substitute Adriana Leon whipped in a floated ball onto the head of the Czech midfielder, but Musovic was able to claim.
But all of the desire that the team had shown was quashed on 63 minutes, as Sam Kerr notched her sides’ fourth of the evening. The ball bounced around off several West Ham players before landing at the feet of Kerr, who finished with power.
Changes were made by both sides, which meant that the game lost its rhythm somewhat, but the Blues continued to look dangerous, with West Ham sniffing around for opportunities on the counter attack.
Lois Joel had two chances that tested Musovic, the best of those was a looping header that almost caught the goalkeeper out.
It would however be Chelsea’s day, as they brought an end to the Hammers’ impressive unbeaten home record in the WSL this season.
West Ham United will now turn their attention to Sunday's WSL clash away at Birmingham City.
West Ham United: Arnold, Cissoko, Flaherty, Parker, Wyne (Evans 57), Longhurst, Yallop (Filis 75), Brynjarsdóttir, Svitková (Joel 75), Hasegawa, Walker (Leon 57).
Subs: Leat, Stringer, Snerle, Cairns, Houssein.
Goals: Brynjarsdóttir 48.
Chelsea: Musovic, Nouwen, Bright, Ingle, Carter. England (Spence 66), Ji (Reiten 66), Kerr, Charles, Harder (James 78), Andersson (Abdullina 75).
Subs: Berger, Mjelde.
Goals: Harder 21, 32, Charles 23, Kerr 63.
Attendance: 1735
