Tottenham Hotspur Women 0-1 Chelsea Women
This is it! The whole of Emma Hayes’ last season in charge of Chelsea Women boils down to who does what on the final day.
A gruelling 1-0 away win against Spurs at Brisbane Road in midweek saw Japanese striker Maika Hamano score her first goal for the club.
It sets up the last act as the Blues travel to Old Trafford while, simultaneously, Manchester City visit Villa.
Both light and dark blues are on 52 points, with only goal difference separating the sides. Chelsea have a two-goal advantage, but City have the easier challenge ahead.
Manchester United are on a high after winning the FA Cup last weekend, but if they beat Chelsea they will be handing the title to their local rivals.
“I think we have the tougher of the two games, but Old Trafford will be a fitting finale for me,” said Hayes, looking ahead to Saturday when every WSL game kicks off at 3pm. “We’ll give it everything!”
She was pleased to have got the win against Tottenham on Wednesday evening to level with City on points at the top of the table, but admitted she’d have preferred a few more goals as a cushion. “We might have to do a bit of shooting practice this week,” she added.
In truth, Chelsea could have had one, possibly two, penalties in the first half after a pair of handball shouts which regularly result in spot kicks if VAR has a say. But VAR is still some way off being regularly used for women’s league games as many stadiums are not equipped for it.
After the midweek win, Erin Cuthbert admitted her overarching feeling was of relief. “We came here for three points; job done, one game to go. We knew we needed to win tonight, and we had a few chances. But the most important thing was to keep the back door shut!”
Hayes had hoped to keep Lauren James fresh for Saturday, but felt forced to bring her on as a sub for the last 10 minutes of the Tottenham game, to bolster the team.
Chelsea’s players looked tired after the match, but not half as tired as Hayes herself, emotionally drained after 12 long seasons of club football which has seen the women’s game mature and develop, in part through her drive and personality.
She will be missed as a WSL manager; always quotable, always opinionated, always passionate. One of her new charges in the USA national team, Caterina Macario, gave Hayes a playful shove towards the Blues travelling fans as the team applauded their supporters at the final whistle.
But just one more collective push is now needed; a tough challenge on Saturday against the FA Cup winners on the dramatic stage of Old Trafford.
The views expressed in this blog are those of the author and unless specifically stated are not necessarily those of Hammersmith & Fulham Council.
