As Chelsea Women go into an international break, it’s time to head to the zoo. Because the Blues have a gazelle in their ranks – according to purring-with-pride manager Emma Hayes.
“She pounces, cat-like, gazelle-like. She so thoroughly deserved her hat-trick,” the gaffer said of in-form Aussie striker Sam Kerr who netted three of Chelsea’s six in a sustained and deadly demolition of Birmingham City.
Kerr doesn’t have to travel far for the Matildas’ two internationals, with matches against Germany in Wiesbaden and the Netherlands in Nijmegen, but Hayes will be watching anxiously, hoping she can keep her fearsome strike force of Kerr and Fran Kirby in good nick for the rest of the season.
With a gazelle and a mighty mouse up front, the rest of the squad has formed a sterling back-up force, capable of keeping clean sheets while seamlessly transitioning from defence to attack.
Kerr’s 20-minute first-half weekend hat-trick was followed by a brace from Kirby and a deserved goal for Guro Reiten.
Brummie manager Carla Ward said that she’d joked with Hayes in pre-match banter that Chelsea could have been kinder with their team selection. “They were exceptional – sometimes you have to just sit back and admire them,” she said.
With a multitude of riches in her squad, Hayes is balancing the impending Champions League semis v Bayern against the mouth-watering title decider at the Academy Stadium against Man City – a fixture still to be placed in the calendar due to Blues’ cup commitments.
Kerr is pivotal to Chelsea’s success. If she stays in form and keeps up the breezy joy she is now displaying at the club, anything is possible.
Privately, Blues insiders admit it has taken Kerr longer to adjust than they’d have liked. But she now looks content and integrated. “Sam is the ultimate team player, and this is the happiest, calmest and most settled she’s been,” said Hayes. “She so often gets the first goal for us just when we need it, and that’s priceless.”
Perhaps the men’s manager, Tom Tuchel, needs to visit Kingsmeadow to watch the women in action after his team’s 5-2 home drubbing by West Brom. Or maybe he needs to take a day off and go to the zoo himself...
The views expressed in this blog are those of the author and unless specifically stated are not necessarily those of Hammersmith & Fulham Council.
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